Schlegel, 9, is a fourth-grade student in Ashley Doster’s St. Edmond Catholic School class. She began exchanging letters with a Marian Home resident in October 2020.

“My pen pal was my best friend,” Schlegel said. “She’s someone I can count on and depend on. I could talk to her about anything and she understands. I love writing my pen pal.”

During the school year, fourth-graders from St. Edmond exchanged letters with residents from the Marian Home. The program is called Care Mail.

Care Mail was introduced through UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center. A team of employees there provided the connections and materials for St. Edmond and the Marian Home.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
McKenna Dillard, 9, a fourth-grader in Ashley Doster's St. Edmond Catholic School class, holds a letter sent to her from a resident at the Marian Home and Village. Residents there and students from St. Edmond exchanged Care Mail throughout the year. The program was started through UnityPoint Health - Trinity Regional Medical Center.

“We have a group called the Culture Ambassador Team,” said Shannon McQuillen, vice president of people excellence at UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center. “These are highly engaged employees who talk about outreach.”

Care Mail was something the team thought could help nursing home residents stay engaged, while also teaching students how to write letters.

UnityPoint provided the envelopes and mailboxes. The program was piloted with St. Edmond and the Marian Home.

“We talk about our families,” Schlegel said. “And how she wishes she could get out more but because of COVID she can’t.”

Ella Christensen, 9, said, “It’s really exciting when they answer back.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Abby Webster, 10, a fourth-grader in Ashley Doster's St. Edmond Catholic School class, reads some Care Mail she received from a Marian Home and Village resident.

Lance McQuillen, 10, asked his pen pal what her favorite subject was.

“She said all of them,” McQuillen said.

Adelyn Bangert, 9, said her pen pal, “really likes dogs, just like me.”

She learned some interesting facts about her pen pal.

“During World War II she was a cigarette inspector,” Bangert said.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Aubrey Nolan, 10, a fourth-grader in Ashley Doster's St. Edmond Catholic School class, looks over a letter she received from a Marian Home resident. Doster's class participated in Care Mail, a progeram through UnityPoint Health - Trinity Regional Medical Center to connect senior citizens with youth in the community.

Sophia Peace, 10, learned that her pen pal used to have a dog.

“He found it on his porch,” Peace said.

Jace Stanley, 10, told his pen pal his favorite place to travel is Wisconsin.

“She’s never been there, but she has an aunt that went there as a nurse,” Stanley said.

Evan Calvert, 10, said he liked communicating with someone outside of his normal group of friends and family.

“It was nice to just write there because you really don’t write to a stranger that much and it just felt good to just talk to someone else that I don’t know and just write to someone like that,” Calvert said. “Just to know them.”

The letters brought smiles to Marian Home residents.

“They were cute,” said Agnes Mumper, a 100-year-old Marian Home resident. “I remember they wanted to know when my birthday was and what my favorite sport was.”

Mumper is a retired school teacher. She taught for a total of 39 years — 25 years were spent in Lehigh.

“I’ve always enjoyed schoolchildren,” she said. “I never taught fourth grade, mostly taught first grade.”

Jean Felhaver, another Marian Home resident, liked receiving the mail.

“I thought it went really well,” she said. “I haven’t wrote back to them too often but I did write back.”

She found some common ground with her pen pal.

“Baseball is my sport that I always like,” said Felhaver, a Fort Dodge native. “Couldn’t hardly wait for it to get started up.”

Letters weren’t the only thing exchanged throughout the year, Doster said.

At Halloween, students got goody bags.

“We also made them Christmas cards, Valentine’s cards and they sent us cookies and cards,” Doster said.

Doster said students have really improved their writing skills.

“We worked on our letters for quite a while to make sure we were using nice penmanship and writing good letters,” Doster said. “We went through the writing process. And now you guys have gotten so good we write a rough draft and then a final draft.”

Doster said students will soon be writing their last letters to their pen pals.

The Care Mail program has also been taking place between Feelhaver Elementary School students and Friendship Haven residents.