Make a meaningful connection with another member of the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu ʻohana through PueoGrams, a letter-exchange program for students, faculty, and staff at UH West Oʻahu.
The free program, presented by the James & Abigail Campbell Library, was created in part to address a stressful time of the year, with the upcoming holiday season paired with finals.
“2020 has been a really difficult year, where varying degrees of solitude have become the new norm,” said Carina Chernisky, public services librarian. “Through this new program, the library hopes to nurture the human connection that is so important to our mental health.”
The library is accepting signups now through Thursday, Nov. 26. Following the Thanksgiving Day deadline, the library will send out match pairings on Friday, Nov. 27. Matches are random.
By registering, participants are committing to mailing at least one letter to their match before the end of 2020. Participants are welcome to continue communicating with one another beyond that commitment.
Chernisky encourages people to participate because, beyond making connections, sending handwritten letters to others is a lost art, she added.
“Not only is handwritten correspondence more personal, but it is an opportunity for the writer to show creativity and their own form of self-expression,” Chernisky said. “We are excited to head into the holiday season with new pen pals!”
Sign up to participate in the PueoGrams program at bit.ly/pueogram-signup. For more information, including suggestions on what to write about and what to do if you don’t have cards or postage stamps to use, visit https://guides.westoahu.hawaii.edu/pueograms.