Fifth-graders send letters of support to those with cancer

Fifth graders at Seaford Manor Elementary School have embarked on a selfless journey by writing words of encouragement to people fighting cancer.

As a show of compassion, the students are writing letters in their classrooms to people around the world who are afflicted with cancer. According to fifth-grade teacher Jennifer Adelstein, these compassionate letters help bring a sparkle of hope to people going through cancer treatments, to let them know that they’re being supported, and that someone is pulling for them.

“This is solely a selfless act,” Adelstein said of the students’ letter-writing campaign. “They are showing empathy to somebody else, someone they don’t even know, and I think that’s powerful in this world.”

Throughout the school year, students received names of people they are going to write to, along with a list of their favorite hobbies. These interests ranged from someone enjoying time with their cats, to traveling, and even reading books. According to Adelstein, seeing these activities makes the letters conversational, because students can connect with them through their hobbies.

Fifth grader Michael Obrochta has written four letters in Adelstein’s class and has already found ways to connect with some of the people he has written to.

“The last letter I wrote was about someone who has been in Seaford for 40 years,” Michael said, “and it reminds me of my mom who has been in Seaford for 40 years.”

Richard Schwartz, the school’s assistant principal, came up with the idea for students to write to people living with cancer, after starting this initiative when he was a teacher at Abbey Lane Elementary School in Levittown. As a teacher, Schwartz asked his students to write letters to his former high school teacher, who was battling breast cancer. She received 21 letters and asked Schwartz if students could write to five of her friends, who were also fighting cancer. The students wrote some more, and the project expanded to hundreds of letters across the world.

In his new role as assistant principal, Schwartz continued this project at Seaford Manor, saying students are on track to send more than 1,000 letters throughout the country by the end of the school year. He said it’s a great way to learn about different cultures, since they are also writing to people throughout the world, such as Australia. Students are learning how to write letters and how to address them, and are even learning important human emotions.  

“It’s a way to teach the kids empathy and compassion,” Schwartz said of the project. “It’s not in any textbook. It’s not in any curriculum.”

According to Adelstein, the project has spread through word of mouth. Students are given forms to take home and told to write the names of people they, or their family, know are battling cancer. Forms can also be filled out online, and many in the community have already been filled out.

According to fifth-grade teacher Lisa Perrone, students have expressed excitement about the project.

“It’s very inspiring to see that they want to do this,” Perrone said, “and to show that they have all this empathy that they can give to others is really great, because you don’t get to see it that often.”

Schwartz said that when he passes by the fifth-grade classes, students stop him to talk about the letters and what they learned from other people’s hobbies.

“They love telling me how much they wrote,” Schwartz said. “They’re so proud of their efforts, and they’re going to continue to be proud.”  

Fifth grader Madison Rainey said the experience has been fun and imagines what it would be like to receive these letters.

“If I were them, I would be so happy because someone wrote me a letter just to make me feel good,” Madison said, “and they took some time out of their day to make me feel good.”

Adelstein said she has already received emails from parents expressing support for the project and hopes some of the letters’ recipients visit the students in person, so they can see just how impactful their letters have been.

“I think it’s important for them to be able to realize they can have that power,” Adelstein said of the students. “Such a small gesture can really have a lasting impression for somebody else.”

For fifth grader Juliet Damato, it has been an enjoyable experience connecting with people battling cancer and hopes the project could reach beyond the walls of Seaford Manor.

“I really hope other schools could do it,” Juliet said, “so it could spread and people with cancer could appreciate these and keep on going.”

Anyone who wishes students to send heartfelt letters to those they know who are affected by cancer can fill out forms found at https://tinyurl.com/Schwartzville-Project.