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Pen pals correspond with elementary students at Fairfield, Pekin and Maharishi School
FAIRFIELD — Retired volunteers in Jefferson County made friends with youngsters in the Fairfield, Maharishi School and Pekin elementary schools this year through a pen pal program.
The group of volunteers finally got to meet their pen pals in person last week, who they had gotten to know through monthly letters during the school year. It was the first time since the dawn of the pandemic that the volunteers were able to meet their pen pals in person, too.
John Miller, the coordinator for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of Jefferson County that’s responsible for the pen pal letter exchange, said he was pleased that the pen pals could put a face to the students they had gotten to know since first writing to them in October. The pen pals corresponded with fourth-graders at Pence Elementary School, and with third- and fourth-graders at Maharishi School, both in Fairfield. This was also the first year that the pen pal program expanded to include Pekin.
“We had 42 children to correspond with up there,” Miller said. “We had 38 or 39 pen pals on board with this, and a few of them wrote to multiple students.”
Miller said the program at Pekin got started late in the year, with the volunteers writing to the students in the early spring, and the students sending them a letter back. Miller said that, after speaking with the Pekin third-grade teacher, he’s going to try to do the program next year with kids who are a bit older, in fifth- or sixth-grade.
Miller participated in the program, too, and wrote to two young boys. One of them liked sending him a joke each month, while the other was excited to share that he and his family were going on a cruise over spring break.
“He sent me a photo of the ship,” Miller said. “It was very cool to meet him the other day.”
Diane James was the coordinating teacher at Maharishi School, and Brittany Metcalf coordinated the pen pal program with her fourth-graders at Pence. Miller said that some teachers have found the pen pal program to be a challenge, but he was heartened to learn that Metcalf is excited to continue the program with her class next year.
Miller said this is the fifth year of the pen pal program, and it’s been gratifying for him and the other volunteers. He said it’s nice to interact with a younger generation.
“I don’t have any contact with young children anymore, and this experience gives me hope for the future,” he said. “When these kids grow up, we’ll be in good hands.”
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
