WAPELLA, ILL. (WAND) -- Bailey Harvey took to social media back in August asking people to send her grandmother Barbara -- a card of endearment for her birthday -- and to this day the cards have not stopped coming.
"When we started she said 'Grandma -- I was hoping that you would get 15-20 cards -- and we ended up with 370 cards," Barbara McKinney said.
People were sending boxes with stuffed animals in them -- just all sorts of stuff," Barbara's granddaughter Bailey Harvey said.
Isolation during the pandemic has been especially hard for the elderly community -- that's why all the cards, messages and gifts mean just all that more.
"There was a woman who sent me a card saying that her grandma had just passed away and since she had the card, she wanted to give it to me and for me to be her grandma," McKinney said.Â
 Sending handwritten cards is one way that can help the elderly community during a time that can be very lonely.
"We're not getting the human touch directly -- but there's still that human touch -- especially sending cards and letters -- that handwritten thing -- that little note communicates so much -- especially to our elderly population," LeRoy Hall, a clinical psychology doctor said.Â
Now, Barbara went from being bored to having new friends to get to know.
"I probably have more than 150 people wanting to be pen pals," McKinney said.Â
In total, Barbara received 370 cards from 47 different states and 18 different countries!
