Have Students Write Letters

The picture is from Danny's FaceBook page DannysWarriors

One morning I was skimming my Facebook newsfeed before I went to work when I saw a picture of a smiling little boy! Danny Nickerson looks just like so many five year olds I know. He has large twinkling eyes and a goofy smiling grin. Unfortunately, Danny isn't just any five year old. He has an inoperable brain tumor.

Like so many other children, his family is trying to do all they can do to keep him happy He doesn't want to go to an amusement park, pet a lion, or be a super hero. He wants to get birthday mail. When someone wants something this small, it seems ridiculous not to help out!

At the start of my class on Wednesday I told the students about Danny and asked if they wanted to take a few minutes to make him some cards. If you have a stricter schedule, and need to keep this relevant to a grammar point you could easily do relative clauses, "I hope that you enjoy dogs. They're the only animal that I can draw." modal verbs, "You should have fun," or superlatives, "You are the strongest person I know!" etc. I let my students write whatever they wanted, and some of them folded origami. 

Now, Danny's birthday was July 25th. I am sure belated cards will also be accepted, but there are other alternatives as well!

You can always contact a local hospital and try to find an address that would work best, but here are some addresses I have collected for you:

Write a Letter of Gratitude to a Veteran thanking them for all they did for our country.Thank a Veteran
c/o Penny Alfonso
1970 Rangeview Drive
Glendale, CA 91201

If you would like to send letters specifically for our Wounded Heroes, please send them in a separate envelope marked: Wounded Warriors.
Operation Gratitude
17330 Victory Blvd
Van Nuys, CA 91406

Girls Love Mail sends letters to women going through breast cancer treatment. All letters must fit in the Girls Love Mail envelope (4.75" x 6.5"). They also have a kit for teachers

They ask that you include your full name and return address on the mailing envelope. They send thank you emails to acknowledge that they received letters.
 
Girls Love Mail
2330 E. Bidwell Street, Suite 200
Folsom, California 95630

St Judes Hopsital is a research hospital where you can send cards to the children. You may send them to: 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105

Find Pals has you sort through many patients to find a specific one to send letters.

Send Kids the World works well and they have lesson plans

Depending on whom you choose to write to and how old your students are, you may want to go over brief etiquette.  For example, "Get better soon!," while a nice sentiment, is not the best thing to say to a child suffering from  cancer. Have your students brainstorm phrases that they can use and should avoid before hand.

These aren't always penpal services... in fact usually you won't get messages back. However, that's  a good lesson too! After all, only doing something when you expect something in return isn't the best lesson to teach our students.