Connection with appropriate boundaries.

Pen Pal Tree was designed by Dr. Abiola Akinosho-Williams, PhD, APRN, GNP-BC, a board-certified geriatric nurse practitioner, with one rule in mind: every connection should protect the dignity and safety of older adults.

Communities are always in charge

Communities decide which visits, volunteer roles and group activities they welcome. A directory listing is not proof of a partnership, a request for cards or visitor clearance. Mailing a card does not require volunteer matching.

Use approved mailing details

Follow the organizer’s approved mailing instructions. Open card requests share the approved address with signed-in members. Organizers need the address holder’s permission and can use an organization, adult coordinator, care-of address or PO box instead of an adult recipient’s home address. A child’s home address or private information must never be shared. Permission can be withdrawn, but copies already saved cannot be recalled.

Privacy for older adults and participants

Keep card stories and public request titles respectful and free of diagnoses, room numbers and private contact information. Only share the mailing details explicitly approved for that request. Volunteer profiles show limited first-name, postal-area, country and interest information to registered members; private phone numbers and email addresses are not directory listings.

Photos and social media

Never take photos or videos of an older adult or program participant, or post about them online, without the community's permission and any consent it requires.

Protecting older adults from exploitation

Never ask an older adult or program participant for money, gifts, loans, financial information, personal phone numbers, email addresses or private home addresses. Do not pressure someone to move a Pen Pal Tree connection into private contact outside the community's approved process. Report behavior that appears exploitative, coercive or unsafe.

Children and young writers

Children and teens participate only through a responsible adult, family, school or organization. Pen Pal Tree has no child accounts. Adults should not use Pen Pal Tree to privately contact a minor.

Volunteer screening

Pen Pal Tree helps people discover and contact one another. We do not conduct background checks, and a Pen Pal Tree account does not mean a volunteer has been screened. Each community applies its own visitor, volunteer, screening, orientation and approval requirements.

Visiting in person

Stay home if you're sick. Follow the community's sign-in, visiting, infection-control and supervision requirements. Ask before touching or hugging. If an older adult or participant seems unwell, distressed, in pain, or says something concerning, tell an appropriate staff member rather than trying to handle it yourself.

Food and drink

Always ask staff before giving an older adult food or drink. Dietary and swallowing restrictions may not be visible. Follow the community's or caregiver's instructions.

Report a concern

If something on Pen Pal Tree seems unsafe, misleading, inappropriate or privacy-sensitive, use our Report a Concern form.