Do you enjoy letter writing, and have a little bit of spare time every week or two? Did you know that putting a pen to paper in that spare half an hour you have could make a huge difference to someone’s life? If not, read on and see how you could help!

Perhaps you already write to several penpals on a regular basis – in which case, could you manage just one more? Or perhaps you don’t currently write to anyone. If you enjoy writing, why not give it a go? There are people out there who really would love to hear from you, and they are just a charity away.

Below are details of just a handful of charities who need letter writers – there are so many worldwide it would be impossible to list them all, so I picked a few examples for you to take a look at. A quick search on Google could, I’m sure, find you other options if these charities aren’t your cup of tea.

Talking of cups of tea, why not grab one now, and take a break whilst you read about how you could help others during your future tea breaks!

Charities Who Require Letter Writers

The Silver Line

The Silver Line was primarily set up as a volunteer-run helpline to tackle the issue of loneliness in older people, but it has recently expanded to include Silver Letters for those who may be hard of hearing, or those who simply prefer communicating through written word as opposed to talking on the telephone. By becoming a Silver Letters volunteer you could help an older person feel less lonely, more confident and, hopefully, happier.

Please note: Since writing this article (but not due to this article) the Silver Letters service has been inundated with applicants, and is currently closed to new volunteers. They are still recruiting volunteers for telephone befriending though.

Post Pals

Post Pals would like people to ‘post a smile on a sick child’s face’ by forwarding letters and cards to them, along with emails and gifts if you like. Post pals is very simple to use, in that you can read each child’s story on the website and their postal contact details are available so that you can act straightaway if you wish, and get started in making a child smile.

More Love Letters

This one isn’t technically a charity, but it encourages people to do lovely deeds and so I really wanted to include it in this list. More Love Letters believe in positivity and supporting strangers who may be going through a tough time. To help them achieve this goal you can either write to one of their selected ‘love letter bundle-receivers’ (which change often, and are suggested by friends of those in need of some love) or simply leave a nice, inspiring letter in public for a stranger to find – who wouldn’t love to find one of those? Please note, MLL is based in the USA, however they love worldwide participation.