Try a Complete Workshop Free:
Uncle Tommy
A complete facilitated memory session.
Everything you need in one download.
Uncle Tommy is a 3-minute love letter to a
neighborhood mentor. Someone who made time feel slower and the world more manageable.
This free session includes the complete facilitator package, with ready-to-use guides, prompts, worksheets, and support materials, plus audio and video available right here on the page.
What You Get
Uncle Tommy - Full Video with Captions
Each workshop package contains professionally developed resources:
Facilitator Guide - Step-by-step session plan with timing and scripts
Discussion Prompts - Pre-written questions for opening and deepening conversation
Reflection Worksheet - Printable page for participants
Sensory Anchors Guide - Sourcing list for tactile objects
Facilitator Debrief Sheet - Post-session documentation for reports
Family Letter Templates (2 versions) - Ready to personalize and send
UCLA Loneliness Scale - Evidence-based measurement tool
Master Touchables List - Universal sourcing guide
Crisis Management Guide - Handling difficult moments
Episode Background Notes - Context and preparation
How a Session Works
A typical Love Letters session runs 50-60 minutes and follows this structure:
0-10 minutes: Arrival and settling. Touchable objects (handkerchiefs, marbles, old photographs) are set out quietly. No icebreakers. The room is already doing something.
10-13 minutes: Play the Uncle Tommy episode (audio or video). Do not preview or summarize. Let it arrive as a gift.
13-16 minutes: Intentional silence. Hold 2-3 minutes of quiet after the audio ends. This is built into the method. The silence is doing work.
16-26 minutes: Initial reflections. Use one opening prompt from the Discussion Prompts sheet. Receive whatever comes without redirecting. Honor the fragments.
26-50 minutes: Open conversation. The discussion usually carries itself by this point. Use additional prompts only as backup.
50-55 minutes: Closing. Name something specific you heard in the room. Let people know when the next session is.
55-60 minutes: Linger time. Some of the best moments happen after the session formally ends.
Key principle: The facilitator's job is not to teach, fix, or lead therapy. The facilitator holds space, follows the guide, and lets the materials do the work. No prior training required.
Why Uncle Tommy Works
Emotional Tone: WARM (Grief Score 4/10)
Uncle Tommy is warm, whimsical, and observational. The grief score is low, making it an ideal first session for new groups, Memory Care settings, or any room where you want to build trust before going deeper. It opens doors gently.
Memory Care Ready
Strong sensory anchors—cherry vanilla tobacco, the squeak of hand clippers, crisp white t-shirts—unlock procedural and sensory memory even when episodic recall is limited. A resident who cannot follow the narrative may still hold a handkerchief and smile. That moment is the goal.
Evidence-Based Measurement
Each workshop includes the UCLA Loneliness Scale (3-item version), a validated tool used in peer-reviewed research to measure social isolation. Administer before and after a series to document outcomes for grant applications and state reports.
Ready for another?
Every Love Letter offers a different doorway into memory.
Browse the archive to find stories for yourself, your family, or your group.
Each workshop follows the same structure: professionally produced episode, complete facilitation package, all administrative support materials. Themes range from childhood memories to sensory experiences to family rituals. Every episode is 2-6 minutes, evergreen, and reusable.