One Hundred Points of Connection

Thanks to donors who supported our fundraiser in March, we quickly mailed out Dearist Classroom Packs to teachers at East Norriton Middle School, a Title 1 school in Norristown, PA. The teachers teamed up with another middle school nearby to pilot a new pen pal program, using the Dearist books and materials. By the end of the school year, this group of students exchanged ONE HUNDRED hand-written letters.

"My students wrote their initial letters somewhat skeptically, without much anticipation of what might happen next," says Victoria Strickland, the teacher who led the students at ENMS. "It wasn't until they received their reply letters when something clicked and the emotions came pouring out. We even had tears of joy from a student, simply from the kindness of getting a letter back."

At Dearist, our mission is to help young people discover their voices and foster meaningful connection. There is no telling what may come from these one hundred points of connection. 

We started the GoFundMe fundraiser to test the mechanics of bridging folks who are interested in our work. There are many teachers on our wait list who are eager to bring Dearist into their classrooms. While the fundraiser is currently on pause, we are exploring a long-term structure to support classrooms in need.

Watch a video that Victoria created of her students reading their reply letters below.