Sign up by Sunday, January 14 to get matched with a pen pal during our Winter Reading Program. There’s no age limit – your pal could be any age and from anywhere across northeastern Alberta, just as long as they like libraries!
In mid-January, you’ll get an email telling you who your pen pal is and what library to send your letters to. Just drop your letters off at any participating library and they’ll be sent off to your pal!
Here’s the steps:
Once you sign up, you may want to add @nlls.ab.ca to your email’s whitelist, to ensure you get your matchup.
In mid-January, you’ll get an email telling you who your pen pal is and what library to send your letters to. Just drop your letters off at any participating library and they’ll be sent off to your pal!
Write your letter. If you’re not sure where to start, we have a few ready-to-print starter letters for kids available for download below. Keep in mind that everyone is starting at the same time, so your first letters to and from your pen pal will probably cross each other in the mail.
Address your letter. We recommend putting it in an envelope so that it’s protected. Make sure to address your letter clearly so our van run drivers can read it – younger kids may want some help with this part.
Address your letter to [your pen pal’s name] at [your pen pal’s library] from [your first name ONLY] at [your pickup library]. Adding the full ‘return address’ will help us reroute your letter if it gets lost.
Drop your letter off at your library.
Ask your library when the best day to check for letters is – every library’s a little different.
Write back and forth all winter and enjoy making a new friend! The last letter will be delivered at the end of March, so if you want to keep writing, make sure you exchange contact information (safely!) before that time.
