Pen pal program receives stamp of approval

UPPER SANDUSKY — A new friend may be as close as your mailbox. The Upper Sandusky Community Library has started a pen pal program that is open to all ages. Holly Higgins, the library's homebound specialist, said youngsters who enroll will be able to practice their reading and writing skills, while older folks will get the chance to reach out and feel connected to somebody. "I am so, so, so very excited about it," she said of the program. Higgins typically works with people who are homebound. She also manages the volunteers who take books to nursing homes. "Since most of my clientele is in nursing homes or are the older generation, I was thinking, 'How can I help to reach them,' because we haven't really been able to give them a lot of books (during the pandemic)," she said. "We're just starting to get the books out to them, but it just doesn't seem like it's enough." Then Higgins remembered when she was in grade school and had a pen pal. "That's kind of what made me think of it from when I was little," she explained. "I started thinking about pen pals and the idea just blossomed." Applications are available at the library or online at https://www.usclibrary.org/ Prospective pen pals will be asked several questions about their interests including favorite books, television shows, movies and collections. Higgins will match up pen pals based on these responses. Participants can request up to three different pen pals. "I think most people will probably just stick with one, but there are some people that really, really, really like to write," she said. She has also provided a pen pal log, as well as about 100 writing prompts to help new writers get started. Higgins said she's excited to see who requests a pen pal. "I've had a friend who is in the service and when her son goes back to school, they'll be in Korea. And she's going to sign him up and then talk with his teacher about doing it for their classroom," Higgins said. "Then I have another friend who is in Washington State, and she's going to sign her daughter up. And she's lived all over. She's lived on the East Coast, the West Coast, Utah. She's been all over the place." She said she's particularly excited about the pen pal from Korea. "There's just so much diversity with military children. They have so many things to talk about," she said. Letter writing is almost a lost art, she added. "This is a good opportunity to get back to that and have kids practice their writing skills and their reading skills," she said. Higgins hopes this will be an ongoing program. "Hopefully it will be something that lasts forever," she said. "Once they're matched up, it's up to them." Wolf: 419-427-8419 jeanniewolf@thecourier.com