July 5, 2007
UWMC-Montlake Elementary pen pals celebrate friendship
For 16 years, UW Medical Center (UWMC) staff have corresponded with Montlake Elementary’s third-grade class to enhance the school’s language arts curriculum. This year, 45 staff members wrote to 45 students on a monthly basis beginning in September and ending in June. The program provides positive adult relationships and helps to keep the art of letter-writing alive, said Irene Hopkins, Volunteer Services. Many continue to write after the program and some staff have been involved since the program’s inception. It is also a rite of passage for the kids, who cheer and rip open letters when delivered.
Steve Widmayer, father of Mila, 9, (front) said his daughter gets “so excited” whenever she receives a letter from pen pal Kennison Cope, senior human resources assistant, UWMC nursing personnel. “They talked about families and what they like to do and it’s really sweet,” Widmayer said. He and other parents were on hand June 7 to mark the culmination of the school year, as UWMC hosted a root beer float party in the Plaza Café where pen pals met face-to-face for the first time and also visited work sites.
