Students met in the Lecture Hall during PRIDE Time on Nov. 15 for a preliminary meeting about the Senior Pen Pal Program.

“It can be lonely for senior citizens if you don’t have a good support system,” sponsor Luke Lundmark said. “On the flip side, we can always learn more from generations that came before us.”

Students will either be paired up with a resident of a local retirement home (Via Christi, Brookside or Homestead), a local resident of Hays or a non-resident of Hays.

Those in the program will be required to write and to respond to two letters per month. To participate in the program, students must have their parent or guardian sign a permission form and submit it by Nov. 26.

Students also must not give out any personal information in their letters, offer assistance (financial or personal) to the citizens or give any other contact information besides first name and last initial.

All letters that are sent out and received will be proofread by either Lundmark or Diane Mason.

There will be another meeting at the beginning of December to review letter writing etiquette and instruct students on how to address envelopes.

“The hope is to have the first letters to go out before Christmas break,” Lundmark said.

Students will have an opportunity to meet their pen pal.

“At the end of the semester, there will be a gathering, we will have coffee and doughnuts and a meet and greet with your pen pal,” Lundmark said.

21afeyerherm@usd489.com