247 Love Letters for Rita!

Back in May, the community rallied to send love letters to Rita. Rita was nominated by her daughter who wrote, "It would give her a sense of renewed hope she greatly needs right around the time of her 60th birthday. She spent the majority of her life working multiple jobs at once as a single mom caring for 3 children. She is one of the most caring and thoughtful people I know, but she does not often receive kindness, appreciation, or even respect from others. So much has taken a toll on her in the past year or so, and I'm hoping that a love letter bundle will help her to see all of the possibility and goodness still ahead for her as well. This is the best and most meaningful gift I could hope to give my mom for her 60th! Thank you so much for your consideration!"

Over 200 love letters showed up for Rita.

Rita's daughter writes to us:

"Everything about this experience has been so wonderful for my mom and for me too. We have received letters for my mom from at least 39 states as well as some from the Philippines, the U.K., Germany, Sweden, Australia, Canada, and more. There has also been a wide range of ages of the letter writers which has been heartwarming, interesting, and wonderful. A group of 9 co-workers from about 40 miles away from us appears to have gathered together to write cards to my mom which they sent as one package. Groups of friends and of young students also spent time writing to and drawing pictures for my mom. It's just incredible! Reading people's words of encouragement and kindness, their own stories and struggles, the connections they made with my mom's story, & the beautiful artwork, quotes, and lettering several writers have sent as their letters is nothing short of amazing. Every letter has been so meaningful, thoughtful, and unique.

These are just some of the aspects of this that we can summarize, but it feels like nothing can quite capture the magic of the More Love Letters community and concept enough. There have been many happy and thankful tears throughout this month. We are planning on organizing and maybe even displaying the letters somehow so that they can be consistent reminders of the fact that there are caring people in the world. I'm thankful that there are people of all ages, locations, backgrounds, etc. who are willing to take time out of their days to think of someone they don't even know, to consider what might lift a stranger's spirits, make her smile, laugh, or reflect.

“I’m forever thankful that over 200 kind people thought of my mom this month and made the amazing effort to give her the start of this new decade that she’ll always remember”

This was a reminder that we all have something to offer each other and that seemingly "small" acts, can mean so much. In this fast-paced world, receiving (and sending) real mail is still so powerful. In some ways, it takes a special kind of effort to write to connect with a stranger, but it's still something we all can try to do, and it's something that matters more than it may seem like it does.

I'm forever thankful that over 200 kind people thought of my mom this month and made the amazing effort to give her the start of this new decade that she'll always remember & words and perspective that she'll be able to carry with her as she moves forward & continues to grow.

Thank you for helping me do this for her! She still can't get over how amazing it all is and neither can I.

-Melissa