Hita Gupta knew at an early age that she had a special connection with
the elderly. She and her 10-year-old brother, Divit, have always had a
close relationship with their grandparents. Their closeness is what
inspired her to find opportunities to connect with older generations.
“I knew that I could help, and I wanted to find a way to interact with seniors,” she says.

Now,
at the age of 15, Gupta is running her own nonprofit that is bringing
encouragement and hope to residents in long term care facilities.
Brighten A Day has reached thousands of seniors in the United States
through cards, video messages, and care packages. Her goal is simple: to
lift the spirits of seniors and remind them that they are not alone.
A Local Start
It all began in middle school when Gupta started writing cards for
children in hospitals and residents in senior communities in her
hometown of Paoli, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia. She soon got her
community involved through partnerships with her local school district
and public libraries.
During her freshman year of high school, Gupta started a club
called Brighten A Day. As her club grew, she made the decision to turn
it into a nonprofit. In 2019, Brighten A Day became an official
501(c)(3) and has grown into a national organization with thousands of
volunteers of all ages from locations across the country.
At the same time, she began volunteering weekly at a local assisted
living community. She spent most weekends at the facility talking to
residents and helping organize activities like trivia and Bingo. She
also worked with residents with dementia. The bonds they formed were
mutually beneficial. She loved spending time with the residents, and
they loved spending time with her.
Going National
Then COVID-19 hit. Nursing facilities and assisted living
communities had to make the difficult decision to temporarily suspend
outside visitation in order to stop the spread of the virus. When Gupta
was told she could no longer visit, she thought about the residents and
the loneliness and isolation that would soon follow. She knew it was an
opportunity for Brighten A Day to step up.
Gupta immediately sprang into action and began sending care
packages to long term care facilities in and around her community. The
packages included large-print puzzles, adult coloring books, colored
pencils, and a handwritten note by her brother, Divit. She traveled all
over, personally delivering packages to the facilities.
In
addition to care packages, Gupta and Brighten A Day volunteers send
encouraging notes, cards, and video messages to long term care residents
nationwide. As virtual visits have taken the place of in-person visits,
she has so far been able to donate 20 tablets to facilities that need
them.
Hita and Divit Gupta search far and wide for senior communities
across the country to share their messages of encouragement. When they
find a community they want to help, they contact the facility and ask if
they’d be interested in working with Brighten A Day. The response has
been overwhelmingly positive.
“They’re all looking for ways to lift the spirits of seniors right
now,” Hita Gupta says. “There was one nursing home in Hawaii that told
us that they shared our cards and notes and our video messages. The
residents started to cry because they had been isolated for so long. It
touched them that someone was actually thinking about them right now.”
A Closer Connection
Brandywine Living at Haverford Estates in Delaware County, Pa., is
one community that Brighten A Day has touched. Activities Director
Bonnie Edenfield first learned of Brighten A Day when Hita Gupta
delivered 50 care packages to her for each of her residents, whose ages
range from 70 to 103.

Edenfield and Gupta began communicating via email and soon
coordinated video chats between volunteers and residents via Zoom, a
video conference software program. Gupta provided Edenfield with a
spreadsheet of volunteers and their interests. From there, Edenfield was
able to match the volunteers with her residents. Currently, three of
her residents have daily Zoom chats with three different volunteers from Brighten A Day.
“They look forward to that call every day,” she says. “It’s absolutely making a difference.”
Edenfield also shared a story about one resident who loves to play
Canasta but hasn’t been able to play since visitation was stopped. When
Gupta found out, she quickly sent the word out to her army of
volunteers. It wasn’t long before Edenfield was connected with four
volunteers who learned how to play the game on YouTube so they could
play with the resident online.
Getting the Word Out
Through social media, word of mouth, and networking sites like
Volunteer Match, Brighten A Day has established a presence in all 50
states. Gupta’s GoFundMe page has enabled her to buy the supplies she
needs to put smiles on the faces of seniors nationwide. Since the
pandemic began, Brighten A Day has even gone international. Nursing
facilities in Scotland, Australia, Ireland, England, Germany, and Italy
have received encouraging cards and video messages from its volunteers.
Gupta is grateful to her parents for Brighten A Day’s success. “I
couldn’t have carried out this project without their support,” she says.
Whether it was helping her with the rigorous process of forming a
501(c)(3) or driving her to drop off care packages, her parents’ love
and encouragement have meant a lot to her.
Brighten A Day has captured the attention of the media nationwide.
The work that she and her volunteers have done has made headlines on ABC
News, CNN, FOX News, and dozens of local television stations and
newspapers.
Seeking Personal Connections
Gupta has been overwhelmed by the impact Brighten A Day has made, especially during the p

andemic.
While cards and video messages have been the mainstay of their COVID
outreach, she’s currently looking for nursing facilities that are
interested in video chats similar to the ones she helped set up at
Brandywine Living. Many of her volunteers are eager to have
conversations with long term care residents to give them the human
interaction they may be missing while they’re unable to see their loved
ones face to face.
As a junior at Conestoga High School, Gupta has a full workload
with her studies, but still finds time to dedicate to Brighten A Day.
While on summer break she has more free time, but during the school
year, she spends at least eight hours a day leading her organization.
“It’s literally like a full-time job,” she laughs.
When asked if she aspires to a career in long term care, Gupta
replies that she isn’t sure yet. “Right now, I’m just trying to make a
difference.”