Allison Bond, a 24-year-old young woman from Lincoln, Arkansas, first learned about Mattie Stepanek when she saw award-winning music artist Billy Gilman pay tribute to the late best-selling poet and peacemaker on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon on September 6, 2010. Although she never met Mattie, she was inspired by his messages of hope and peace and decided last year to begin bringing peace to others through handwritten letters to pen pals across the world.
Allison recently told us “Because of everything bad going on in the world today, I feel like we need a lot more kindness. It makes me happy to spread love and let people know that I care about them and pray for them. If they are sad, I hope that my letter makes them smile.”
Allison finds her pen pals on Facebook groups and websites, and now has more than 800 she has written. Many write her back, and she says that it’s very exciting to go to her mailbox and have messages from all over the world waiting for her. Just last week, she mailed out 20 international letters. Disabled with a mild form of cerebral palsy, Allison’s parents make sure that she always has enough funds to pay for postage for her letters.
“I hope that others will be inspired to do something that makes our world a better place – anyone can make a difference,” said Allison.
#ChoosePeace #MakePeaceTheNews
