When Eliza Ramirez’s eighth-grade students at Emiliano Zapata Academy in Little Village learned that they’d be spending the fall and winter corresponding with a class of tenth graders at Amundsen High School in Ravenswood and that the letters would be collected into a book published by 826CHI, a nonprofit writing center, they were skeptical. What was the point of writing letters, they wondered, in this marvelous age of text messages and Snapchat? How could ink on paper possibly compare to the magic of cat filters?
“I know we are just getting to know each other,” she read, “but I hope you know that I’m here for you. Like you said, I know how it feels to have no dad. I’ve got to admit seeing Mom suffer taking care of us is hard. . . . After reading your letter, I knew I should keep going, knowing he is happy wherever he is. Like you kept going on, without your father.”
The students knew from the beginning that their letters would be read not only by their letter-writing partners but also by the 826 staff and the complete strangers who’d pick up the book. Their teachers were impressed by their bravery and willingness to share anyway.
The letter-writing program won’t be duplicated; 826 changes its book project every year. Still, Villarreal said she hoped more kids would have the experience of writing letters to new and unmet friends elsewhere in the city. “We got students to think about how rich their lives are,” she said, “and to open up to their letter-writing partners.”
