So she tailored to her clients the pen pal programs that nursing homes began launching during the pandemic. The facility has provided regular deliveries of groceries and essentials to them, but Reed recognized that they had needs beyond the physical - namely, human contact. It remains closed because of the pandemic and will be among the last facilities to reopen, due to older people's vulnerability to COVID-19.Īt the onset of the crisis, the center identified 130 seniors who needed to self-isolate at home due to preexisting conditions.
The nonprofit facility helps seniors in the southeastern part of the state to live independently by providing organized activities, services and support. Kirstin Reed recently started the Pandemic Pen Pals program at the O'Neill Center in Marietta, Ohio. “We just need it right now, more than ever, now that we're all distanced and quarantined and all of that.” “A silver lining on a very gray cloud,” she observes. She believes that the social disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic have increased interest in letter writing. To date, Cochran has connected nearly 1,000 people in every age group through both clubs. A paper published by Northern Illinois University's Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language and Literacy states that, “Although extended letter writing is less common today, given the ease of text messaging and email for instant communication … letter writing can be seen as significant and consequential in people's lives, serving to maintain familial ties, communicate news and personal information, or resolve disputes.” The simple act of writing itself has many positive benefits, the paper says, including “improve memory function, decreased symptomatology, and greater feelings of happiness." Pandemic or not, studies show that the act of letter writing has tremendous benefits for both the writer and the recipient. The idea isn't necessarily to form a lasting pen pal relationship, she explains, but to “just send joy out into the world and perpetuate these positive feelings, because that's good for us right now." People join through her website or social media pages, and she links them with each other, as well as with facilities like nursing homes. Undaunted, Cochran recalibrated her idea and launched the Shut-In Social Club, which connects people interested in communicating via handwritten letters with like-minded folks from across the country. Then came the pandemic, which put an end to in-person events. "What really compels me is wanting to facilitate this human connection between people, and letter writing is a fantastic way to do that,” she says. They then crafted letters to people they knew, or Cochran would pair them with someone from a directory she'd created. At these events she'd provide participants with supplies and lead them through a workshop on letter writing. After leaving her job in November 2019, she started hosting pop-ups dubbed Snail Mail Social Clubs. We were paired through the Shut-In Social Club, an organization that Nashville, Tennessee, resident Courtney Cochran founded to unite people during the coronavirus pandemic through the lost art of letter writing.Ĭochran, 36, is a former creative director for a stationery company and devotee to all things office supply. I'm hoping for a letter from a 20-year-old man.Īllow me to explain.
If you would be open to writing to another kid, please let us know on the form where indicated.Since late March I've been getting a little spring in my step every time I head to the mailbox. We have a lot more kid sign-ups than seniors. Know an elder neighbor or relative who would want to participate? Please share!īig thanks to the folks from the Greenwood Branch of The Seattle Public Library, who are partnering with us to bring this project to life! Hey kids and parents!
WORLDWIDE SNAIL MAIL PEN PALS HOW TO
Kids practice their penmanship, communication skills, and how to address an envelope. Calling all older adults and parents of kiddos! Want to receive some fun letters in the mail and help kids learn the craft of communicating via snail mail? Join our pen pal project!
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