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Cheyanne, a Mission Grammar School second grader, has been filling in Radiology’s Betty Emmanuel on all the details of her life over the past few months.
“I wrote to Betty about my cat Yummy,” said Cheyanne, who is one of 49 second and third grade students at Mission Grammar who write to pen pals at BWH as part of a program run by BWH’s Center for Community Health and Health Equity.
Last week, the students were elated to meet their BWH pen pals face to face and enjoy lunch together at the hospital. During the event, Emmanuel gave Cheyanne a hand-stitched sampler that said, “You’re Special.”
“I had a lot of fun getting my letters from Betty,” Cheyanne said.
The program has been a success in helping the students practice penmanship and grammar. “It’s great because the kids are still learning how to read and write, and this fits in nicely with their curriculum,” said Pamela Audeh, youth program manager for the BWH Center for Community Health and Health Equity.
Audeh hopes to expand the program to 100 correspondents and other area schools. “We got a huge response to this,” she said. “People love the idea and BWH employees really enjoy receiving and writing letters to their pen pals.”
Wanda McClain, BWH’s new executive director of the center, said, “There is a strong connection between the community and the hospital. This program is a win-win for all.”
To become a pen pal, contact Audeh at paudeh@partners.org or call ext. 2-6533.