Every year, the National Honor Society (NHS) collaborates with Letters of Love, a program that allows students to write letters of kindness to kids battling illnesses. This tradition began simply but has now evolved into an event where not only are those who read the letters uplifted, but those who create them also find joy in making the cards, reminding all of us that small gestures can make big differences.
According to NHS advisor Lindsey Meyer, NHS collaborates with Letters of Love annually to spread kindness and compassion through heartfelt messages. She said the tradition has grown over the years and helps the members feel more passionate about service.
“(Letters of Love is) a long-standing tradition here. It started long before I was the advisor, but it’s been an event that we do every year,” Meyer said. “We’ve already had 12 group projects or something crazy like that. That comes from better relationships with the community. We’ve been partnering more with different places around the community, Westwood, early childhood, the football boosters, or whatever the case may be. The more NHS members can be with each other, doing projects, making a difference, being collective together, that overall makes them feel more passionate about service. It’s sometimes lonely to do service by yourself, but I think when you’re doing service with a group of people, you feel powerful.”
Senior Sabrin Abdullahi said the purpose of the project goes beyond writing cards; rather, it’s about spreading kindness to those who need it most. She said even small acts of kindness go a long way.
“(I did this) because I feel like it’s so nice. I feel like, even if you don’t know the (person), you should still want well for them,” Abdullahi said. “They’re little kids; they don’t deserve to be going through anything. No one deserves (to be) sick. If one of my letters can help them that day, then that’s gonna be happening forever.”
According to Junior Nicky Moran, participating in the event aligns with his own personal values and highlights the importance of uplifting others. He said that wanting to help others out when times are rough is what makes you a good person.
“This connects my own values, because I think it makes you a good person,” Moran said. “You can inspire other people when they’re in low times, and I think that just helps people out a lot.”
Abdullahi said doing this allowed her to grow when they work together with a common goal in mind. She said seeing working students from different backgrounds working to bring a positive impact allowed her to better appreciate the unity that Letters of Love brought.
“I think it’s allowed me to grow, because like, I get to see a lot of different people doing what I’m doing, loving it, embracing it in their own ways,” Abdullahi said. “ I think that’s just so beautiful to see, especially in a high school where everybody’s so divided either by grade, age, ethnicity, race, all the above. And it’s so great to see everybody come together and just do small things.”
Moran said the letters, even though small in size, carry a big effect. He said students’ few thoughtful words can make a lasting difference.
“I think just getting a small compliment lightens up their day a little bit, and it’s something to look forward to each day. (I hope) looking at that letter every day (is) just like a highlight of their day.”
Meyer said it’s important for each individual to put a piece of themselves into their letter, whether it’s a joke or a drawing. She said that when someone brings their unique personality into the letter, it makes the letter more meaningful and powerful.
“(The more) our volunteers can put into the activity, the better, because they are all so individual and they all have unique senses of humor,” Meyer said. “So it doesn’t really matter what the activity is, although we really aim to make high-impact projects, and this is just one of the projects we do. I think that overall, when we just put more good into the world, whether that’s like sending letters to people who are going through a hard time, it feels much more impactful and special.”
