Earlier this year, A Little More Love helped to direct a senior prom at Lions Gate in Voorhees, hosted by Lions Gate and Samaritan.
Cherry Hill East friends Esha Kalikiri and Tulina Elbarouki founded their nonprofit, A Little More Love, in 2022.
At the time, Kalikiri was volunteering at Cooper University Hospital, tasked with going to patients’ rooms and meeting with them. What she quickly found was that many of them lacked support systems they needed, and it inspired her to work with Elbarouki to find a way to bring people together and create a positive change in their lives.
Their nonprofit is a youth-led organization of volunteers that seeks to empower palliative and hospice-care patients, who are typically battling serious illness or terminally ill.
“We kind of took inspiration from the clubs in our community, and take it one step further,” Kalikiri explained. “Hosting something in person, doing regular in-person events, building that real-life genuine connection with patients.”
In their earlier days, Kalikiri and Elbarouki were volunteering at Lions Gate Skilled Nursing in Voorhees and found out about a female patient’s birthday. So they celebrated with her.
“It’s really easy in this day and age to kind of be trapped in your own world,” noted Kalikiri. “And our organization really emphasizes community development and involvement. I think what’s really important is realizing what’s important in your community and taking action against it.”
While Kalikiri and Elbarouki wanted to join residents in activities like game nights or “senior” proms, they realized many weren’t able to fully participate. So the two decided to pivot and tweak activities to better fit the needs of the people they were meeting.
“Nothing’s easy about empathizing or connecting with someone who might not live to see another day,” Kalikiri acknowledged, “but it’s really about putting yourself in their shoes, and it’s easier said than done … We encourage all of our volunteers to be patient with them and really make sure they all feel seen and heard. That just looks like conversational habits, like making eye contact, making sure you’re always listening, making sure you’re an active listener, things like that.
“A lot of patients struggle with communication because of their illnesses,” she added. “A lot of them can’t hear, a lot of them can’t speak, so a lot of it has to do with wordless communication, too, kind of using touch and things like that.”
A Little More Love was able to hold its first social outreach event this spring at United Methodist Communities in Collingswood, where they joined the Cherry Hill East group Musicians On Call to meet with patients.
Earlier this year, A Little More Love hosted its first social outreach event at United Methodist Communities in Collingswood, along the group Musicians On Call.
Since then, the nonprofit has hosted social outreach events and donation drives and created and sent gifts that reached hundreds of patients in hospice and palliative care in South Jersey.
“We want each patient to feel seen and heard and cared for, so we encourage them to talk about themselves, and then we add to those conversations,” Elbarouki noted. “A lot of them have asked for advice. A lot of them are just seeking someone to vent to, like a listening ear.
“It all comes down to reaching out first.”
Elbarouki noted that when it comes to patients with Alzheimer’s or dementia who don’t always know their surroundings, it’s important to build on what those patients say and use body language to let them bring up conversations, rather than putting pressure or correcting them.
A Little More Love also works with Samaritan and the United Methodist Communities and has partnered with libraries in the Camden County system as well as the township to host collection drives. It has worked with about 300 volunteers nationwide to host service projects they can participate in, such as asking people to decorate and sending journals to patients.
Volunteers with A Little More Love decorate journals for patients.
Kalikiri and Elbarouki hope to inspire leaders from around the world to increase impact by starting their own chapters.
“As regard to our name, we kind of want them to understand that no matter what people are going through, or someone could be going through a hard time or experiencing a lot of mental-health issues,” Elbarouki emphasized.
“If you just gift somebody a little love or a little bit of time and kindness, it can really go a long way.”
There will be a toiletry drive at the township library from Tuesday through Saturday, Sept. 14, where A Little More Love will collect items such as shampoo, conditioner, lotions and perfumes to donate to patients in hospice and palliative care.
To stay up to date, visit https://alittlemorelove.org. A Little More Love is also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lmlnonprofit/?igsh=MWQ0ZDliY2w2bzI4Yw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr.
