Letter Writers Alliance

In this era of digital communication it has become quite rare to read handwritten letters. However, I clearly remember from my childhood that sending and receiving letters from buddies was actually very exciting. I would really like to make and maintain contacts through real, personal letters again. That's why I have just become a member of the 'Letter Writers Alliance'!

A while ago I was a little bit bored (no, very bored) and I felt like I was not really experiencing anything new. So I downloaded Google Earth on my PC so that I could act like I was exploring the world while I was actually sitting behind my desk.

I spent some time 'driving' around in different states of the US and Canada to get an idea of how people live there. An then the idea struck me: I wanted to have contact with people who live on the other side of the world. And to make it extra personal, I wanted to write letters!

Lisa told me she once joined the project 'Postcrossing', which allows you to receive postcards from random places in the world. I really like this idea, but I wanted to write letters. In that way you can really get to know someone and add photos and stuff.

I searched for it on the internet, hoping to find people with the same thoughts. And that is when I found the Letter Writers Alliance. The LWA was started by Kathy Zadrozny and Donovan Beeson in 2007. They believe that a handwritten letter is 'a rare an wondrous item' and want to keep the art of letter writing alive. It's just the two of them who run the organisation and they are very dedicated to their mission.

You can join the LWA by becoming a member; you can get a lifetime membership for only 5 dollars. Then you will receive an envelope from Kathy and Donovan (this may take a while, depending on where you live - it took two weeks for the letter to be sent from Chicago to the Netherlands), containing a welcome note, login information, a membership card and a badge. Once you're a member you can get exclusive stationary and cards (check out their website, it's very cool!) and a pen pal.

I just received my envelope! I think the envelope itself looks very cute and I was very curious to open it. Inside there was the note, the membership card and the badge, as you can see below. They also added a free postcard. I'm really looking forward to get started and send my first letter to my future pen pal:)

xx

Ivanna