Pictured above: Kinnick Van Wyk writing a letter to his pen pal.
Grinnellian Kristin Van Wyk contacted Kellie McGriff, Associate Director/Administrator of The Mayflower Community after seeing a Mayflower story about resident pen pal stories.
Together, Kristin and Kellie made plans for Kristin’s three children to write to Mayflower residents in the Health Center and Beebe Assisted Living. Kinnick is 10, Kyndall is 8, and Kynslee is 6.
All three of the youth have designed card-style letters and written to Mayflower residents. Who is getting the most out of this?
Kyndall said, “I really enjoy writing letters and then checking the mail every day waiting for a letter back. I’ve had a lot of pen pals during the quarantine and it’s fun.”
In Kinnick’s words, “I love history, wars, and presidents so I enjoyed writing about that and hoping to get some stories back from them maybe about being in a war or some history.”
So what does mother Kristin think about this gesture? “My kids absolutely love it and I think it’s a great writing lesson for them!!!” Something is working.
— Bob Mann, Sales & Marketing Director