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Celebrating Kindness, Manners, Gratitude, & Civility through Thank You Letters

KINDNESS

MANNERS

GRATITUDE

CIVILITY

Why National Thank You Letter Day?

Taking place one week before Thanksgiving, “National Thank You Letter Day” is to remind us of the simple and powerful act of sending a letter of thanks to someone we care about or love who has affected our lives.

This day celebrates the timeless values of kindness and manners, civility and gratitude as revealed in the simple act of writing a handwritten Thank You letter.

Why on November 14th?

November is perfect month to celebrate giving Thanks with Veteran’s Day on November 11th and Thanksgiving a few weeks later. November 14th seemed to be the perfect day in a trio of holidays dedicated to giving thanks.

Who Should You Send a Letter to?

Write a thank you letter to someone in your family or a close friend that you would like to thank for any reason–large or small.

Veteran’s Day is on November 11th, a few days before National Thank You Letter Day. Send a letter to someone in the military thanking them for their service. (Soldiers still love to receive letters!)

Write someone in your community that you admire who has personally helped you or others. This is a great way to teach kids about the importance of giving back to their community.

What’s the best way to write a Thank You letter?

Write from you heart! A Thank You letter is a genuine act of gratitude that we all love to receive. It’s just another way of spreading kindness and civility throughout the world.

How Long Does the Letter Have to Be?

The beauty of a Thank You letter is that it can be any length. From a couple of lines to a couple of paragraphs–or longer. What is most important is actually writing the letter and then sending it.

Why a letter? Why not just send a text or an e-mail?

It might be quicker to send a text or e-mail but if you really want to make it personal and memorable, there is nothing better than receiving a handwritten letter from someone!

“Letters are real.   They are made of paper and the paper holds the time that you place into the words.  And the paper can be held.  It is human-sized and made for hands to hold and touch—and feel.  It is not electronic or made of electrons.  And because letters are real, they can be saved and cherished for a long time. And you can always feel the person in the way they write—even long after they are gone.  And that is a profound legacy to leave someone.”

Carew Papritz–Founder of National Thank You Letter Day

A Thank You Letter can be written to ANYBODY for ANY REASON! 

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What’s the Story behind “National Thank You Letter Day?” The World’s Largest Handwritten Thank You Letter, Envelope, and Stamp!

The idea for a “National Thank You Letter Day” was inspired by award-winning author, Carew Papritz. Carew likes to encourage children’s literacy and promote community service by creating big, memorable, “teachable moments” that will inspire kids–and adults–for a lifetime.

The Ah-Ha Moment! — One day while reading the chapter, “How to Say Thank You and Please” from his inspirational book, The Legacy Letters, to a group of children, Carew suddenly imagined the children writing a giant thank you letter to world! Thus was born idea behind the “World’s Largest Handwritten Thank You Letter!” Of course, one could not have a giant Thank You letter without a “National Thank You Letter Day” to promote it!

The Timeless Importance of Saying Thank You — Carew created the letter and the day to teach children—and remind adults—about the timeless importance of saying thank you through handwritten letters.  Not only does he want to inspire in children that “Thank You” letters are still important in our culture but that believing in kindness and manners, civility and gratitude, still matter in the world, and that thank you letters are a vital way to communicate these beliefs.

The Making of the World’s Largest Handwritten Thank You Letter, Envelope and Stamp!

An Arial Shot of the World’s Largest Handwritten Thank You Letter, World’s Largest Envelope, and Worlds Largest Stamp

 

Students standing on top of World's Largest Thank You Letter

Watch this short video of the World’s Largest Handwritten Thank You Letter as its revealed by the students of Continental School!

Creating “Community-Inspired” Moments for Kids

Carew has encouraged children’s literacy and promoting community service in other events where they were encouraged to use the power of handwritten letters and donations to help those in need. His most recent community service with students include:

Cuba—Students gathered book donations from schools in three states then wrote personal handwritten letters that they attached to books. Carew then delivered the books and letters to children at a school in Havana, Cuba, helping to celebrate the new relationship with Cuba and the United States.

Hurricane Harvey—Students collected donations of clothes and other needed items for fellow students during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and attached handwritten letters to the items, which were then sent to an elementary school in Houston that had been flooded.

Notre Dame Cathedral–Students gathered donations and wrote letters to the French government to help in the rebuilding of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Carew truly lives the central theme of his book—to live life to the fullest—and inspires others to do the same. He love-of-life adventures include creating first-ever events such as signing books on top of volcanoes and glaciers, on horseback and while river rafting.  His adventures that inspire kids to both read and explore the world can be seen on his “I Love to Read” video series, which has garnered over a million views on his “CarewTube” YouTube channel.

“Paying it Forward” with The Legacy Letters — Carew believes in “paying it forward” by donating the profits from book sales to a designated charity during every first-ever book signing or community-inspired event. Charities include: Make-A-Wish Foundation, Military Mama Network, Reading is Fundamental, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Cowboys for Cancer, and many more . . .

To learn more about Carew, his award-winning inspirational book, The Legacy Letters, and his continuing efforts to bring more kindness, manners, gratitude, & civility to the world through Thank You letters, please visit www.TheLegacyLetters.com

Student relaxing on World's Largest Thank You Letter
Student relaxing after a hard day’s work writing the World’s Largest Thank You Letter

 

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