April is National Card and Letter Writing Month

Not to be confused with other letter-writing months, as far as I can tell, "National Card and Letter Writing Month" is an event created and sponsored by the US Postal Service. They even have a tie-in with Scholastic (it is fun, so check it out (PDF)).

Prior to 2001, the event was called National Letter Writing Week.

I recall events in school in the early-to-mid seventies that are reminiscent of the PDF linked above. We made post cards and our own postage stamps and pretended to mail them. In fact, I remember being pretty freaking impressed that people could just make their own stamps and glue them to a card or letter without spending any money. (I figured out the truth, eventually.)

In 1980, the USPS released a sheet of six different stamps (15¢) in honor of the week-long event. In 2001, they changed the duration of the event to one month. and in 2015, a new stamp was released (From Me to You (Forever)), that included extra stickers.  

Regardless of the event's origins, ending and receiving mail is a great way to feel good or bring warm feelings to others. Very few people get real mail nowadays. I'm not the birthday card sender I once was, but I have heard from some people in the past that the card I sent was the only one they received. And it really is just nice to get something personal in the mail. So, I encourage anyone reading this to set a goal and send some cheer.

It's also a great way to keep handwriting skills from going completely stagnant. (One of the reasons I started finding and writing to pen pals in the last year is because my handwriting was becoming illegible.)

I signed up for the Write_On challenge/campaign, which means I'm going to try and send thirty pieces of mail during the month. (Yikes!) I didn't do so well with the goal I set in February, but that's in the past. Each challenge is a fresh start, right? To keep track of my progress, I created a simple calendar/planner page (8½ x 11"), which I'm sharing below.

I'm also including some links to other events that might appeal. But you don't have to join anything. Set your own goal. Maybe it's to send some thank you notes, or "thinking of you" cards, or fun mail to your kids, nieces or nephews (bio or honorary). Connect, however it works for you.

Sources

• Mel's planner page on Drive or on Dropbox (Personal use only, please).
• write_on
• Little Girl Designs has a 30 Day Mailbox Love challenge and has free stationery downloads (and a different kind of calendar).
• Pretty by Post challenges you to send four cards. That's doable!
• Relinking to the Scholastic/USPS PDF.