**Disclaimer: This post is reflective of our company while under the name Pledgeling and the listed information may be outdated. Please refer to our main company website on Pledge for current information and resources.**
If you’re of a certain age (like me), you will recall the excitement of getting a personal, handwritten letter in the mail. Your friend took a trip and sent you that cool postcard from Paris, or that letter from Hawaii (the one with all the sand in it!). It was SO exciting going to the mailbox every day, hoping that “today will be the day” that the letter arrives! And when it finally did arrive, and you had that warm envelope, which you oh so carefully opened, with the exotic stamp in your hands, and then devoured all the exciting news and tales of fun from afar… it was magical! You got to take a trip without leaving your living room. You would also get to keep those “trips” forever, in some shoebox or other, where they waited to be read again, and again as a lifetime of memorable moments.
Today we just click, emoji, send and delete away… fast, easy, expedient, but not all that warm ‘n fuzzy with fewer “memory moments” being shared, saved or treasured. Little build up or anticipation happens when we receive everything instantly. Makes me feel a little sad for those who have not experienced the giddy thrill of waiting for, and (finally) receiving that long-awaited letter in the mail.
Well, if you (and your children) have missed out on the magic of receiving real letters in the mail, and want to experience that delight again, then you have got to meet our friends, Shawnee and Palmer Mills, at Letters from Afar – find out more HERE. This clever husband and wife team came up with the brilliant idea to create a monthly letter writing subscription service, where each month they craft a beautiful hand-drawn, painted and written letter, which describes a different exotic journey to far off places. Through these personal letters, you and your family will be able to visit fascinating places like the Black Forest of Germany, the Lost City of Petra or the Cliffs of Moher. With maps, vintage stamps, and other elaborate details, these enchanting letters joyfully educate and share all the wonders that these distant destinations have to offer. Written by the adventurous “Isabelle”, a globe-trotting girl who travels the world sending home her descriptive “letters from afar”, these letters create a much anticipated monthly mailbox family event of learning, sharing and also of GIVING BACK!
That’s right, a proceed of each subscription to Letters from Afar is donated to Pencils of Promise, a non-profit organization that builds schools and increases educational opportunities in the developing world. This amazing group believes everyone deserves a quality education, and they have made that their mission. With 497 schools built and 97,211 current students, you can learn more about how you can help them HERE. Watch the GIVING BACK grow with Pledgeling’s Real-Time Donation Tracker – HERE.
Rekindle your love of letters and learning while giving back, and get your subscription to Letters from Afar today. And while you’re at it, send a few subscriptions to those special loved ones on your holiday gift-giving list, too! Give the digital Wi-Fi overload a rest, and get your family together over something REAL this year with Letters from Afar, and supporting Pencils of Promise powered by Pledgeling.
Want to learn more about how your company or business can make the choice to be a REAL Give Back company? Download the GIVE & GROW app for Shopify HERE. If you’re a business owner seeking to integrate mission into your business in other ways, please contact us directly @pledgeling to discuss all the options. Both business and store owners can enjoy the app dashboard, where they can see real-time donation tracking, and save valuable time by downloading tax receipts for easy reporting, which saves valuable time. In addition, owners have the option to integrate an Impact Calculator onto their site, so customers can instantly see and share the impact their donations are making with each purchase.