Post a smile to a sick child

Tags: charity | get involved

A simple idea is helping to bring smiles to the faces of sick children all over the country by encouraging people to send thoughtful messages to 2-18 year olds with serious illnesses using a wonderful website, Post Pals.

Post Pals was started by 24 year old ME sufferer Vikki, when she realised surrounding herself with cards people sent her when she first became bedbound had given her a reason to wake up every day. Vikki said: "It was this that gave me the idea for Post Pals, although I hoped it would "catch on" I didn't dream it would touch as many lives as it has, both families with seriously ill children and of the volunteers around the world. I'm so very proud of it!"

Vikki's dedication to sharing the hope that other people have given her with sick children she's never met earned her Readers Digest Hero of the Year 2006 and the Beacon Award for Young Philanthropist 2008, and the continuously increasing success of Post Pals is testament to her hard work.

Post Pals works by helping visitors to the website to ‘find pals'. Giving information on sick children they can contact, who all their own profile with name, picture, interests, and details of their illness. The website gives regular updates on each child, and tells the reader about their families, so they can send messages to them as well.

It is this caring attitude and the personal attention paid to the young people featured on the website that makes Post Pals so unique. Members are asked to send cards, emails, e-cards and even small appropriate presents to their new pals. Post Pals enables members of the public to go online and find a Pal in their own time. They write a simple letter to their new Pal, to whom they will be known as ‘Posty' without expecting any kind of reply. Support is also encouraged for Pals siblings who may also need support, for example if they are struggling with the attention naturally afforded to the poorly family member. So they include the name and age of Pals brothers and sisters for people to contact if they like, as well as the opportunity to send something to their parents.

Past and previous pals are noted on the website as well as happy occasions, and the unfortunate and all-too-often sad ones. Post pals doesn't hide from the fact that some of the children are very ill, in fact it has a ‘TLC' section for those who are in the most distress: perhaps because they relapsed or are having a hard time with symptoms, operations or constant treatment.

Post Pals has attracted famous friends: its patron is Radio 1 DJ Fearne Cotton, who said: "I'm honoured to be asked to be patron and so happy to help spread the Post Pals word! What a great idea! It's so easy to make a kid smile" and recently featured on comedian Russell Howard's ‘Good News' show, which brought thousands of new visitors to the site.

If you would like to bring a smile to one of these special children today, visit http://www.postpals.co.uk , write to Post Pals, PO Box 278, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT23 4WN or email info@postpals.co.uk.