Once Letters of Love is approved, it will aim to brighten the spirits of patients at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis by fundraising and delivering cards, according to senior and club leader Maggie Klaers.

“Letters of Love is a club where students can come and write cards for kids at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis and then we will deliver them to the hospital,” Klaers said. “We will also be trying to do some fundraisers for the hospital.”

Klaers said the idea of starting Letters of Love was sparked through exposure of the club from her cousin, who is president of the club at Orono High School.

“I saw a post on (the) Letters of Love account from Orono High School, where my cousin goes. She is president of their club there and they were posting about how they were looking to expand into other schools,” Klaers said.

According to Klaers, her idea to start the club was also influenced by her background in social action. 

“I volunteer at Children’s Hospital, so I get to spend time with some of the patients and I know things like this really cheer up their day,” Klaers said.

Adviser of Letters of Love Pat Hartman said he agreed to take on the position of adviser because he thought the club displayed good values.

“It sounded like a pretty cool initiative they’re doing, sending letters to kids at Children’s Hospital,” Hartman said. “I thought it would be easy to give them some space (for conducting the club) because I thought it was a good cause.”

Klaers said the club has a dual purpose of both expressing creativity and creating a positive impact.

“It’s a really good way to get involved in your community because not only are you doing something that could be considered a mindfulness activity like coloring and writing, but it’s a way that you can feel yourself getting involved in a really tangible way and it makes a big impact,” Klaers said.

According to senior Patrick Djerf, Letters of Love is a great way to positively impact a child’s life in Minneapolis from our classrooms at Park.

“I really like the idea of what the club stands for and what the club does. It’s a good way to serve your community,” Djerf said. “I really like the idea of being able to help a kid who needs encouragement from our own classrooms.” 

According to Klaers, the process of making the club official has been coming along smoothly.

“We’re working on turning (Letters of Love) into an official club at the school and coordinating with the kids at Orono (High School) to make sure we’re consistent with each other,” Klaers said. “I’m just waiting on approval from the athletic office and then we’ll start planning some meetings.”

Djerf said Letters of Love has a special purpose and doesn’t require a lot of responsibility, which he believes will guide students to become more involved.

“This club is going to be a really good way to get people involved in the community. Especially as a first step toward service because it’s a pretty low commitment, but has the potential for (a) really high impact,” Djerf said. “When students see how easy it is and how fun it can be to get involved in community service, they’ll be inspired to take further steps toward performing service actions.”