These amazing initiatives started for members in the communities to connect with one another, bringing a bit of brightness to any day, all through the art of mail.
Pay It Forward
Take a moment and think of someone you can write a letter or send a note to, whether it be a close friend, loved one, family member, or even the local healthcare or senior living center. Writing the message will have you feeling happy and connected to the recipient, and the recipient will surely be excited to receive the message. Small gestures, such as a letter or note, even small package, can make the world of difference.
Waite third-grader's mail campaign bringing 'smiles'
What began as one third-grader's writing project has grown into a large-scale effort to help area seniors possibly feeling isolated amid ongoing social distancing requirements.
Audrey Brown, a student at Waite Elementary School, 4765 Cobblestone Drive, Medina, spearheaded a "smile mail" initiative that worked to deliver roughly 1,200 letters and greetings for Valentine's Day, most going to area nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
The 9-year-old started off by asking students in her class to write letters to nursing home residents as a "long distance hug or smile."
"I talked about it with my teachers and just pitched it to my principal," Brown said Sunday. "She really wanted to help too and we all found little ways to help everyone kind of build it up since then. A lot of people are helping now. Right away, a lot of people wanted to start getting the letters."
Her mother, Anna Brown, said talks are underway to set up a smile mail drop-off box in front of Waite so anyone wishing to draw up their own card can pay forward the kind sentiments. However, logistics are still being worked out due to COVID-19-related safety precautions.
"I know when some of (smile mail) letters got dropped off at a nursing home, they had to sit there for a week just to ensure that everything would be safe," Anna said. "Audrey really got going on this in November and everyone planned things out so they would be done and ready to open on Valentine's Day. It took a lot of planning."
Audrey said she'd like to grow up to be an artist, skills she's happy to apply now as one of many helpers around the district drawing up cards. The smile mail campaign is now getting help from Sydney Fenn and Ella Canavan elementary schools with even more aid coming from Medina High School's Huddle program, which encourages teens to take younger students under their wing.
"The Huddle team's helped facilitate the idea to the other schools and with the process of collecting, sorting and delivering the letters to the nursing homes who were interested in receiving the," Anna said. "They've just been great, always asking what they can do to help."
The young leader in this growing wave of good tidings encouraged peers to turn good ideas into reality instead of just thinking about them.
"You have to tell someone about it," Audrey said. "If no one knows about it besides you, how's it ever going to happen? Keep going, spread the word, and see what you can do."
Those wishing to help with smile mail are encouraged to contact Waite Elementary School at (330) 636-4500.
WWII Veteran’s Postcard Is Finally Delivered to His Family 77 Years Later: 'It's a Crazy Story'
In 1943, 18-year-old Bill Caldwell wrote a postcard to his uncle Fred in Liverpool describing his first week in England's Royal Navy during World War II. "Post [this] early in the day," he told the Royal Mail, according to the BBC.
The postcard was finally delivered to Caldwell's family home 77 years later. Both Caldwell and his uncle have died, but a distant relative, Jack Elomaa, lives at the address and alerted Caldwell's six children to the postcard's arrival. "It was the most surreal thing on a Friday night to suddenly read a postcard that Dad had written 77 years ago when he was training to be a sailor in the Navy," Caldwell's daughter, Joanna Creamer, told the BBC.
In the letter, Caldwell expressed his excitement about the Navy, which he had wanted to join since he was 15. "Well I am in blue at last. I did not think it would be like this - you don't get much time for yourself, do you?" Caldwell wrote. The note continues: "But I like it alright. I will write a letter to you all when I get half a chance so will you hold on a bit? I have 19 weeks here yet. "Give my love to everyone."
During his service, Caldwell was deployed on a minesweeping mission ahead of the war's historic D-Day operation, according to The Daily Mail. The invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 has been described as the most critical moment in America's efforts to help liberate Western Europe from the Axis powers during World War II.
Caldwell also visited Japan after the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to help transport prisoners of war, according to The Daily Mail. He rose to the rank of Able Seaman and was awarded four medals for his service.
Caldwell left the Navy in 1946 and found work as a plumber before moving to Somerset in southwest England with his family in 1964, The Daily Mail reported. His children are spread out throughout the country, living in Surrey, Norfolk, Somerset and Bristol.
"It's a crazy story and it's hard to believe," Caldwell's daughter, Elizabeth, told The Daily Mail. "To get this little message from my dad felt like a really special thing for us all."
In a statement to the BBC, a Royal Mail spokesperson said the postcard was "likely put back into the postal system by someone recently, rather than being lost or stuck somewhere in the network."
The surprise comes at the same time Caldwell's family is preparing for the anniversary of the death of his granddaughter Fiona "Fi" Braidwood, who died 2016 in a car crash at 17 years old, The Daily Mail reported. Her mom, Vicki Caldwell, set up a charity in her honor called FEES Fund, which helps children and young adults pay for education and extracurricular activities.
Reflecting on the letter and anniversary, Elizabeth said, "It's been a very emotional and special time for us and has brought lots of things up."
Learn more about the benefits of physical mail:
- Ebook: Hybrid Communication Benefits (and Challenges)
- Ebook: The Future of Mail: Top 5 Predictions from Industry Experts
- Webinar: The Importance of Print in the Hybrid Communications Mix
Find out more on how Quadient Mail Related Solutions can benefit you, contact Quadient today.