Conference moira::parenting

      When I was a kid, I wasn't too interested in penpals.  But it seems
      to me I was always running across penpal opportunities.  

      Doesn't seem to be in vogue these days though... maybe kids are
      really less literate now?  Where can kids find penpals these days?  

<      Where can kids find penpals these days?  

Well, our 6 year old son just wrote for a penpal.  There's a group called
COLLAGE (Children of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere) which sends out a newsletter
and they are helping kids connect with other kids like them.  Evan thought
that was a great idea, even though he can hardly read or write, so he wanted
us to help him write for a penpal.  We did, and are now awaiting the response.

     Carol

   You might want to try local churches, too.  I know that our church
   helps to sponsor several missionary families with kids - some of these
   kids would probably *love* to have a penpal to write to regularly.
   Some of the feedback we've gotten from the missionary families is that
   communication with folks "back home", so to speak, is greatly
   anticipated and always welcome.
   
   If you don't have that sort of thing at your church, contact me
   offline, and I'll see about putting you in touch with some of our
   families.
   
   - Tom

    I'm not sure how they did it, but when I was in about 6th grade, our
    teacher got a list of kids and we all became "penpals".  I think it was
    from another school, in Canada.  Maybe your school has contact with
    other schools - or at least give you the name of a school (in England
    perhaps?) or a noter here can offer some school names, and you can go
    at it that way.  Kids LOVE to get mail, and finding out about others is
    always interesting.  
    
    At the end of the school year, there was a school trip to get all the
    kids together - they went south, we went north and met somewhere in
    between.  It was GREAT to be able to finally meet our long-distance
    friends!
    
    

    Earlier this year my son's school collected a dollar per student, it
    was in the form of 100 pennies, to mark the 100th day of school.  It
    was called by the school "100 DAY".  The money was sent to California
    for disaster relief.  I can't remember which city in particular now.
    
    Since then the children from his school have been exchanging letters
    with students in the California school district.  Perhaps you might
    want to write to some town of your choice, the town manager or
    equivalent, and ask for his/her assistance in geting a pen pal.
    
    Some other options might be organizations you belong to, Girl/Boy Scouts,
    YM-YWCA's, Campfire, FFA etc are all nationwide/worldwide
    organizations.  With a common interest of belonging to the same group
    it would make begining letters much easier to write.  Most groups have
    a local office of some kind (The Girl Scouts are in Worcester) and
    they may be able to match you up with another council.
    
    Lyn

    I found this in "ask the globe" (section of the Boston Globe):
    
    "Worldwide Friendship International in Randallstown, Md, does just that
    [i.e. connect US adults with pen pals from foreign countries] for its
    7,000 members.  Founded in 1986, its goal is to bridge the gap between
    people of all nations through correspondence.  Members range in age
    from seven to 85 and represent more than 100 countries.  ... For more
    information, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Worldwide
    Friendship International, 3749 Brice Run Rd., Randallstown, MD 21133."

    
    This note seemed to be the appropriate place to put this...
    
    My daughter (9) and her friends recently found the name of an organization
    in some magazine that supposedly finds penpals.  The organization asks
    that each person send his/her name along with a photo, and the
    organization finds an appropriate penpal for him/her.  My daughter
    all of a sudden wants to have a penpal.
    
    In the past, the school has had penpal interactions with kids in other
    schools and she has written to other kids, but in those cases, the
    schools and the kids involved were asked beforehand, so there was some
    "screening" done, and as a matter of fact, the letters that got sent
    back and forth were sent to the school(s), not to individuals.
    
    Perhaps I am being too overprotective, but I am leary of having my
    daughter send her name and photo to some organization I know nothing
    about.  My wife and I know of some kids living in in other states and
    even other countries who might want to be penpals with my daughter, but
    she wants to go through this organization, probably because all of her
    friends are planning to do it too.
    
    So, I would like to know if anyone has ever heard of the following
    organization or has any opinions about soliciting penpals?
    
       International PenFriends
       P.O. Box 290065
       Brooklyn, NY  11229
    
    Thanks for any suggestions or advice you might have,
    
    Phil
    
    

    I had a pen pal when I was in Jr. high...don't ever remember the
    organization asking for a photo.  I remember after writing back and
    forth for a while, sending a picture....
    
    I would check this place out....if you have a friend who is a
    policeman...
    
    Kathi
    

    I found International PenFriends at www.wcf.com.
    Looks like they do kids, seniors, and singles.
    They also have special programs for schools, this might be
    worth looking into, as maybe the letters could be sent to
    the school.  Sending pictures sounds suspicious to me.  To
    be an "agent" (someone who recruits penpals?), you send
    your name and $5.  Sounds too easy to me.  They talk about
    being an agent as a way to earn money.
    
    The singles web page says to include a picture (joining is $175).
    The other page (for kids?) does not talk about a picture, and
    costs $20 per year.
    
    Janice