A group of teens are helping to provide a glimmer of hope and inspiration for health care workers during the pandemic.

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Herman Bikoko, a student from the Bronx, helped to found the student-run nonprofit organization Kind Words USA. The group invites people to share inspirational notes for health care workers on their organization's Instagram page and website. The student volunteers then write those messages on cardboard paper and mail them out to put a smile on a nurse's or doctor's face.

 Bikoko says a nurse at the Montefiore Medical Center told him the letters really do help to uplift the staff. 

"She has spoken to me about how much more important these letters are than we think they are," says Bikoko.

The students in the organization say they have mailed out hundreds of notes to hospitals from people all over the world. For Kind Words USA co-founder Gabriella Hu, the battle health care workers face hits close to home. She says her father is a doctor.

"I think it's especially important right now to reach out to these doctors because so many of them have to leave their families to keep them safe and just that human connection that we're lacking is super important for everyone's mental health," says Hu.

The students, who met at a Massachusetts boarding school, say they send notes to shelters as well.