That Kind Of Penpal Program

Let’s do something good together!

After some positive reaction to my experience writing birthday cards to prisoners, some of you said you’d be interested in using a communal postboxto have a “safe” return address to send some prison penpal letters of your own. It took a little time to get together, but introducing:

THAT KIND OF PENPAL (aka: TKOP)

Ever been interested in writing a letter to a current inmate, but were hesitant to disclose your home address so you could receive letters back? Stop hesitating and start writing!

Let’s talk about what TKOP is:

• A universal return address for corresponding to inmates. Sending out mail that doesn’t really call for a response, like a birthday card, but need to put a valid return address so the Post Office will deliver it? Cool. Now you have something to write in the upper left-hand corner.
• A PO Box for the same purpose, if you live in Boston. If you want a key to the box to carry on your own correspondence with inmates, shoot me an email at notthatkindofgirlblog@gmail.com, and I’ll hook you up with a key.
• Mail forwarding for anyone in the US and Canada. Want to write to inmates? Great! Don’t live in Boston? Okay! If you want return letters from inmates forwarded, after you send them the initial letter, just shoot me an email to let me know: 1) to look out for mail with your name on it; 2) what address I can send your mail to. I’ll send letters anywhere in the US or Canada, once a week or as often as they come.

Dudes, how incredibly easy is this? Just return address any mail you’d like to send to the program:

[Your name]
c/o That Kind of Penpal (or TKOP)
PO Box 1570
Brookline, MA  02446

“Okay, but why should I do this?”

Why or whether you want to write to inmates is up to you — I just want to make it easier for anyone who would like to. Personally, I like the idea because: 1) if prisoners are to have any shot at reintegrating into society after their incarceration, I think it’s important for them to maintain connections to the outside world; 2) even contemplating the crushing depression of confinement absolutely bruises my heart; 3) because lots of dudes think prisoners don’t “deserve” human contact or kindness, they’re a pretty routinely ignored demographic; 4) writing to prisoners is a nice thing you can do absolutely for free and in only a few minutes  a week.

“So how do I get started, like, TODAY?”

Guys, I’m telling you right now: you can do this on your lunch break. Here’s some great stuff to check out:

• Write A Prisoner. This is an incredible resource. It’s a database of prisoners from all over the US who have filled out profiles seeking (non-romantic) penpals. You can browse prisoners by state, check outgood advice on precautionary measures, or read about why letter-writing is an awesome thing to do (according to people way smarter than me).
• Send a birthday card. Pick up a five-pack of birthday cards at CVS, “borrow” postage from the office meter, and give five strangers a moment of happiness at mail call. Write A Prisoner lists prisoners by birthday, so even if you don’t want to start a long-term friendship, in just a few minutes, you can do something pretty cool.
• Write an email that gets printed out and mailed to a prisoner. Heck yes, guys, you don’t even need to buy stamps to write to a prisoner. Through Write a Prisoner, at the bottom of every profile, there is a button that says “Email [Name] Now!” No stamps, no post office — just two minutes of your time.

“But a prisoner and I will have nothing to talk about!”

Um, my hairdresser and I have nothing to talk about, but we still make it work. Before you write, read the prisoner’s profile (this also helps weed out “hey ladies!” type profiles) and see if there’s some common ground. Ever visited their city? Wanna talk about the weather? A first-letter go to I have inany scenario is describing the first time I saw snow, when I moved to Boston, and how I couldn’t figure out how to walk in it. Just be human, dude, and it’ll work out.

“Is this costing you anything to run?”

Aren’t you sweet for thinking of me. The post office box costs $72 annually. But in an absolute miracle of human awesomeness, one of my amazing readers — GirlInVA — actually paid the whole first year’s dues. Yeah. Yeah. I absolutely cried when I found out.

I’m happy to pay the cost of mail forwarding out of my meager ad income, but if you would like to make a little donation toward the cost of mail forwarding (absolutely no obligation — seriously, seriously), feel free to sign onto PayPal and send a dollar or two to notthatkindofgirlblog@gmail.com: