Description
Who doesn’t love receiving a letter? The chatty, informal sort, packed full of everyday juicy titbits with glimpses into someone else’s life. And even better, with no obligation to respond.
When Alison Hitchcock’s friend, Brian Greenley was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2010, she offered to write letters to cheer him up. “I felt quite helpless. What could I offer? I didn’t have any medical expertise. I didn’t know him particularly well. Writing a letter seemed a simple thing to do,” she explained. Over the next two years, as Brian’s cancer moved from stage III to IV, Alison continued to write letters. She told him about her daily life, the mundane happenings, the things that made her laugh. Although he had family and friends, he had been feeling disconnected from the world. Little did she know what an impact she was making.
“He told me he saved the letters to take with him when he was having chemo. That way he could feel that I was there alongside him. He liked to re read a letter when he was feeling grim and it helped him to think that someone had been thinking of him,” said Alison. Brian who has now been clear of cancer for nine years comments: “I never appreciated how a letter could change my outlook on the day. Instead of seeing the world through my eyes, I saw it through Alison’s eyes.
People diagnosed with cancer often feel isolated. Alison writing a letter felt like a wonderful gift.” The pair of friends were urged to turn their idea into an organisation so that others could benefit. This led to the creation of From Me to You – a charity inspiring people to write letters to those living with cancer.
From Me to You now offers a website with helpful tips on how to write a letter and letter writing workshops. Writers can donate a letter to a stranger, helping to reduce the social isolation and loneliness so often associated with cancer. Recipients can dip into the ‘Happy Box’ to receive a letter just the once or on a regular basis.
From Me to You works with 18 cancer centres and partner charities across the country including Maggie’s Leeds, who help to distribute the letters to people undergoing treatment or living with a cancer diagnosis. Many cancer patients having benefited themselves decide they would like to write letters to others with a diagnosis.
“Living with cancer takes away so much of your independence, and this is a way they can give back,” added Alison. Letter writers are given guidelines and asked to fill out an agreement not to disclose personal information, which could identify them. Letters can be handwritten or typed, and can even be emailed to the charity, if that makes life easier for the donor.
If you are interested in being a writer, or receiving a letter, please go to https://frommetoyouletters.co.uk