CHANDLER, Ariz. — It is, perhaps, a lost art form: the handwritten letter.
Something so common just a generation ago, replaced by text messages and emojis.
A group of students at Chandler High School is joining a nationwide movement to revive the art of letter writing. They are using their words to bring comfort to those most isolated by COVID-19.
“Letters for Rose is an organization where we started to write letters to people in nursing homes in order to build those connections in our community through writing letters,” said Makayla Larntz, a Junior at Chandler High School, and the founder of Chandler High School’s Letters for Rose Club.
Letters for Rose is an initiative started by two high schoolers in New Jersey last year, to let those in care centers know they were not forgotten. A group of students at Chandler High School adopted the program for their school, teaming with local senior centers to send their residents some much-needed support.
“We just talk about random things like school events or our friends, our family and just remind them that people are there for them in this time of COVID and everything," said Larntz.
“I think it’s really important to help people when you can and because we can’t be there in person, and we have this opportunity to write to them,” said Abby Cea, also a Junior at CHS and the Secretary of the LFR Club. “I think it’s really important to take the time out of our day to help someone feel a little bit better.”
The club at Chandler High School meets once a week after school to discuss where the next round of letters will go and make sure everyone has someone to write to. It’s the times when these young writers receive letters or photos back that are the most rewarding.
“I think it’s really nice that in this time we can still have those personal relationships with people," said Larntz.
“Oftentimes we forget how to write someone or describe our day or the things that we saw,” said Cea. “And I think this club provides a way for us to learn to be more personable and learn more about others.”
It’s also a way for a new generation to learn the importance of a lost art that was so important a just generation ago.