Pen Pal Program Guidelines and Policies
The following are general guidelines and program policies that will help ensure a positive experience for our participants and their families. Parents/guardians will be asked to accept and acknowledge these guidelines when registering their child for the program.
- All participants will use the Pen Pal Program for its intended purposes. The program is intended for handwritten communication via snail mail only.
- Parents/guardians are responsible for the nature of the content in their child’s letters. We expect that participants will converse with respect at all times, and will not submit false, misleading, or inaccurate information pertaining to their identity. Parents/guardians of younger children should be involved in the letter writing process, and parents/guardians of older children should set clear content expectations with their child before beginning the program. We suggest parents of matched participants share an introductory email as well.
- Pen pals should begin the relationship with a letter of introduction, sharing a bit about themselves and asking a question of their pen pal. Children may feel excited about having a pen pal, but also nervous about what to write. Here are some ideas to help break the ice! You can tell your pen pal about:
- Your family and where you live
- Your pet/s,
- Your school and/or favorite subjects
- Your favorite activities, books, or movies
- Participants should also agree on how often they would like to exchange letters. For example, once/month is a reasonable guideline for a beginning pen pal exchange. Participants can always make the decision together to write more/less frequently.
- Participants should take care to respond to their pen pal in a reasonable amount of time – no one wants to feel forgotten! They should also be coached to respond with a comparable amount of content, as it would be discouraging for a child to receive a two-sentence response to a two-paragraph letter they worked hard to compose.
- Participation in the program is at-will (either child in a match can opt out at any time), however, we suggest that participants commit to the program for a minimum of six months to allow the pen pal relationship time to develop.
- Generation Veggie is here to provide assistance during your pen pal relationship. Please contact penpal@generationveggie.org with any questions or program feedback. We want to ensure that your child has a positive experience!
By participating in the Generation Veggie Pen Pal Program, you hereby agree to indemnify Generation Veggie and its respective directors, officers, volunteers, and agents and to defend and hold each of them harmless from any and all claims and liability (including attorneys’ fees) which may arise in connection with participation in the Pen Pal Program. While Generation Veggie endeavors to ensure that all participants are verified and will actively participate in the Pen Pal Program, Generation Veggie does not guarantee or warrant the frequency or content of communications between participants. Generation Veggie has the right to remove any participant from the Pen Pal Program who does not adhere to our Guidelines and Policies.
