Receiving mail, the in-your-hands, physical mail, is reason for great excitement for Zachary. Exchanging Christmas cards in December and then Valentine’s cards just recently, kept Zack busy making and signing cards. Sealing and putting stamps and return address labels on the envelopes added to the building excitement, until finally we dropped them off at the post office. Although he doesn’t get quite as excited about sending cards as he does when receiving, he did enjoy the entire process.
One aspect of the Christmas card exchange that Zack really enjoyed was sharing a little note about who he was. Even better was when he found a note in the cards he received. Several of his Valentine cards also had notes in them, which really helped him appreciate who sent them.
As a way to further encourage our Keep In Touch families to stay connected, we have decided to start a Keep In Touch Pen-Friends project. Every month participants will send out a note or message to a fellow participant, sharing information about themselves and what they are currently up to. There will be monthly prompts and ideas to get the participants started. If any participants would like to exchange with more than one Pen-Friend, we will offer that as well. The notes do not have to all be originals, they can be copied and sent to two or more friends.
Now before some of you decide that this isn’t something for you, consider the benefits:
- Participants receive mail from Lutz friends and families
- Participants get to stay up-to-date on what others are up to
- It will give the participants something to look forward to
- And best of all…it is another way to Keep In Touch.
Sharing information about ourselves is the surest way to connect with others. A note can be sent by itself or can be tucked inside a ‘Thinking of You” card or accompanied by a drawing. You decide. And for those participants that might not be able or willing to write out their own notes, family members are encouraged to lend a helping hand by being their secretary and writing or typing their note for them. No rules against Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother, Grandparents, or any family member or caregiver from getting involved and getting it done. The point of this project is two-fold: One, for the participants to connect and learn more about the other members of Keep In Touch; and two, to give family members an opportunity to share a moment either by encouraging participation or working on this project together.
Our first letter will be an introduction of who the participant is. Things to include would be name, age, birthday (remember, it is the most important day of the year), whether they are still going to Lutz or a Completer, the year they will or did complete, things they like to do (interests/hobbies), and things they do to keep busy (ie. if they work or have specific chores or responsibilities at home). Maybe include information about brothers or sisters and pets. And finally share a little of what they’ve been up to this month.
In addition to mailing the note to their Pen-Friend, we would like to have a copy of the note emailed to us (a photo of the note is okay, but please make sure it is legible) at lutzkeepintouch@gmail.com so it can be included in the Keep In Touch Mail Room. The Mail Room will be where all the letters are kept for all participants to read, because every month participants will have a new Pen-Friend to exchange with. This doesn’t mean they will be reintroducing themselves every month. This is what the Mail Room is for. When they receive their monthly Pen-Friend, participants can visit them in the Mail Room to read up on who they are exchanging with. Even if they think they already know the person they’ve been paired up with, I’m sure they will learn something new or at the very least enjoy reacquainting themselves with them.
If possible, we would like to have a photo of each participant so people who visit the Mail Room will know what their Pen-Friends look like (this is completely optional). Clicking on a Pen-Friends photo would open up the letters from that Pen-Friend. This would allow participants the chance to keep up and catch up on all the Pen-Friends. By switching Pen-Friends every month, we hope participants will meet new people and hopefully make new friends.
Every month the participants should bring Pen-Friends up-to-date on what they and their family have been doing since they last wrote, as well as share information from that months prompts. Future prompts will include life at Lutz, favorites, a day in the life, and many more. Even if Pen-Friends already know each other, they are bound to learn something new in each letter. Plus, they get mail! That alone is reason to get excited.
If you are unable to send out letters, I will be asking if there are any participants willing to send an extra letter or two to these participants, even though they will not receive one in return through the mail. Participants that cannot send through USPS may be able to email notes to recipients. Additionally, if any participant does not want to exchange letters, but would still like to write a letter to be posted in the Mail Room, that option will be available as well.
Below is an introduction letter/fill-in print-off that might help you get started. Participants can simply print this off and fill in, use it as a guide as to what to say to their Pen-Friend, or they are more than welcome to start from scratch and do their own thing. What is important is to share something about yourself, your life, you day-to-day happenings.
No matter how many friends people have, there’s always room for one more. In fact, I’d venture to say that there’s enough room for an entire Mail Room full. Click on the following link to join the Pen-Friends Project.
Click the following link to sign-up: Pen-Friends Sign-Up
If you have any questions or comments, use the form below to ask me.
Lutz Keep In Touch 