Below is a sample letter to the editor for local publications. Please modify the text, personalizing this sample to fit the author’s “voice” and your organization’s culture. If local stats are available, please include them. Check the submission guidelines for your newspaper, but most recommend that letters not exceed 150 words.

To the editor:

We each likely have experienced–and the [Name of Outlet] has reported on– the national workforce shortage, which has hit health care and senior care organizations especially hard. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationally, more than 1.7 million health care workers left the field this year–just when U.S. adults are living longer and many will need some form of long-term care.

In this season of reflection and gratitude, I think it’s imperative to recognize the caregiving professionals who remain dedicated to those who rely on them for life-enhancing care and services. At [Your organization] our frontline care professionals, along with other experts, keep our residents vibrant, comfortable and safe in our community 24/7. Our team members–many of whom have served our residents for decades–find meaning and purpose in these essential roles.

Aging services providers–many nonprofit or faith-based organizations whose core mission is people, not the bottom-line–fill a vital role in every community. As year three of an unprecedented pandemic ends, I applaud the resilient aging services professionals who gave their hearts and souls to battle COVID and continue to  give their all to older adults in our community every day. 

Sincerely,

[NAME]

[TITLE]

[ORGANIZATION]