Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Return to Snail Mail?

Sharon Holt writes:

Remember the days when the letterbox held the anticipation of news from a friend? These days, emails, texts and other forms of digital communication have all but ended the daily walk down to the letterbox. But Hamilton woman, Judi Billcliff, is determined to bring back snail mail – if only for one day a year.
As an author and drama teacher, Judi loves words in any form. She is promoting June 13 as Snail Mail Day in an effort to bring back the magic of sending and receiving letters through the mail.
“Most children don’t know the excitement of mail arriving in the letterbox with their name on it,” says Judi. “I even wonder how many young people have written and posted a letter.”
The idea for Snail Mail Day occurred to Judi when she watched her adult daughter sitting on the floor with a friend, surrounded by their children and piles of letters the women had written to each other as teenagers. 
“When I saw them laughing at the stories held within those pages, I realised what we are losing by relying on digital technology for our communication,” she says.
“Those memories and family history either don't get recorded, or are stored on a computer – but what happens when the computer crashes?”
At that moment, Judi decided to promote a special day when new memories could be created. “I thought June 13 would be appropriate because it’s the anniversary of my mother’s death and she was an avid letter writer.”
Judi has published several children’s poetry books and she couldn’t resist creating a ditty around the word SNAIL to help promote letter writing on June 13.
S end
N ‘yone
A n
I nteresting
L etter
She is encouraging New Zealand families, schools “and everyone really” to bring joy to others by writing and sending a letter to a friend or family member on June 13. She hopes the idea will catch on and be repeated every year. “It’s about preserving our history and creating new history for generations to come,” she explains.
To share your support for Snail Mail Day and keep informed about the day, visit the SNAIL MAIL Day page on Facebook.
ends


For more information, contact Judi Billcliff: 027 531 5381 or (07) 846 6158

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thanks for this Graham. Snail Mail Day is gathering momentum as more people come on board. Libraries in the Waikato are loving the idea and will be encouraging people on the day to write a letter while at the library. Schools are exchanging letters with schools in others areas, and even as far afield as Canada. Some are writing to someone special in their lives. I've been getting texts and calls from people wanting to share with me the precious letters they've kept through the years. The Facebook page continues to grow, and children have been reading the page especially for them on my website. A shame TVNZ didn't see it as newsworthy. Next year I hope it will be even bigger.

Judi Billcliff
Rainbow Poetry