The last week has been heartbreaking to watch unfold. My heart aches over the fear, the divisiveness, the “us” vs. “them” mentality. The stripping away of humanity. As an educator I know that when we take away all of the labels that we use to categorize each other, when we look each other in the eye and listen to each other’s stories, we find out that we are all human after all. When I feel despair over the state of how we treat others, I look for ways to combat that. I look for those doing the hard work of caring for others. The Letter Project is one such organization spreading good.
What it is: The Letter Project has one primary objective: to teach women and girls that they are enough. They are driven by the belief that we flourish by supporting each other, and seeing the good in each other first. How do they do this? by writing letters to girls and women around the world who need a little bit of extra encouragement.
How to encourage girls/women with The Letter Project: If you know a girl or young woman who is going through a tough time or needs some extra encouragement/confidence, you can request letters through the Letter Project. She’ll receive a bundle of letters from women around the US who want to build her up and support with words of encouragement.
Wondering what is considered a “tough time”? It could be girls having trouble finding friends at school, feeling lonely or sad, experiencing family turmoil, having trouble with how they look, feeling anxious/nervous. Really, the topics can be limitless. The letters are meant to encourage and show these girls (ages 6 to 20) that they are not alone. To request letters, just fill out a short survey about the girl you are requesting for. In about 4 weeks, the girl will receive 10 to 15 handwritten letters from women across the US.
We all know those girls who could use extra TLC. Maybe they are dealing with body-image issues, maybe a divorce in the family, perhaps they are nervous about moving on to [middle school/high school/college]. Maybe they are overwhelmed with school, or believing lies about themselves. The Letter Project is for these girls, all of them!
I love the heart behind this organization, empowering women and girls to believe in themselves. To remind them that they aren’t alone, we are all in this together!
Tips: The Letter Project is a Christian organization, although they will write to any girl (Christian or not). If you are requesting letters for one of your students, you might specify that the letters be faith-background neutral. If you are requesting letters for a student, please get permission from a parent/guardian first.
You can help: You can support the good work of The Letter Project by partnering with them to write letters, or through monetary donations that go toward stamps, envelopes, and stationary.
Awesome! Hand written letter have so much meaning behind them! I really enjoy this topic! Thanks for the post!
Hi Kelly,
I am a third-year pre-service teacher at the University of Southern Queensland studying to become a Secondary English and Health and Physical Education teacher. This semester, I am studying a course called EDC3100: ICT and Pedagogy and we have been asked to reach out to teachers and develop a professional communication network. In this course, we have also been exploring the concept of constructing and transforming learning through ICT mediums. In my research, I have come across your blog and am astounded by the vast quality of resources you have listed here, photomath: https://photomath.net/en/ for example I believe would be a fabulous resource that not only has the capacity to transform learning but also, acts as a second teacher as you have identified. I am wondering if you know of any applications that can be used in the secondary teaching context that can transform learning in either English or Health and Physical Education?
I look forward to hearing from you and thanks again for providing such a detailed and comprehensive ICT and technology blog.
Kind regards,
Todd.