Introduction
It took us some time to settle on what we could do as a community project. One student suggested “Donate a Letter” early on, and when when we thought about what we were able to do as a community, taking into account our various abilities and disabilities – and also taking a deeper dive into what “donate a letter” was about – we settled on it.
What
The charity writes:
“Donate A Letter” aims to reduce the social isolation and loneliness so often associated with cancer.
Receiving a letter or card, even from someone you don’t know, can bring a connection and sense of comfort at a time of difficulty.”
Where & When
We found a date and a venue – the Linklater Pavilion in Lewes, and on September 18 2025, at 10 am, we began.
How
To start with we watched video of Alison – one of the co-founders of the From Me To You charity – running a “Donate a Letter” workshop. I think what we all took from it was how impactful it can be for someone who we don’t know – to receive a letter.
…Someone has taken that time out of their day, done something non-digital, and just communicated something of their lives, something of their humanity, borne the humanity of another in mind.
It is particularly impactful because the recipients have a cancer diagnosis, and as such a lot of their world is referencing that.
These letters are human to human rather than human to patient. It seems as if there is something about receiving a letter from someone who has no expectations of ‘us’ and we have no expectations of ‘them’ and yet the writer communicates something of themselves in their lives which is precious.
The letters are either sent to individuals or cancer centres in hospitals around the country where people living with cancer can pick one up.
The Day
Responsibilities and jobs were divided between the group to make the day run well, whether organising, writing a risk assessment, cleaning, or other tasks.
After watching the video, we had a discussion – recognising that the aim was to communicating something of ourselves in the letters, in a friendly way, to another person. It seemed as if the requirement was that we find a way to be congruent.
Some of us wrote one letter, and some of us wrote more than one letter.
A fine collaborative lunch emerged at lunch time. Our generous community spirit expressed itself in the lengths people went to make the food to share – we each brought a dish so that we could sit down together and share. There were curries, Italian salad, moussaka, cakes and other and sweet treats.
When we had finished, we bundled the letters up to send them to the charity who then read them to check if they felt they were appropriate (there were a few rules we had been informed of, about writing a letter so as to avoid them containing assumptions or expectations or pressures for the person receiving them.)
On receipt of them, Alison, the charity co-founder, wrote:
“I have your letters – and lovely they are too. Please do thank your group for getting the tone of the letters just right.And writing with such thought and creativity.”
The bundle of letters that we have written together as a community has now been passed on for the letters to work their magic – they were handed over to the oncology ward at the Sussex Cancer Centre in Brighton.
How Was It ForYou?
One participant wrote:
‘I enjoyed the company and writing the letters and hope to continue to write them. It felt like a real joint effort to make a small but significant impact on people who are facing cancer, particularly those without a support network.’
Another wrote:
‘It was good to learn and understand more about the experience of people living with cancer and how a simple letter could provide so much support and friendship. …Writing the letters felt like a real act of friendship and I enjoyed sharing the simple small things about my life with someone I will never meet.’
