The pen pal project that sparked national attention last spring has continued to leave an impact in the Davie County community. The project, called Senior2Senior, encourages high school seniors to make connections with senior citizens through the letter-writing process.

It all started in Ashley Snider’s senior English class for the first time in the spring of 2024, but it has now become a recurring project for her classes, with the most recent addition to the program this semester. The idea of the project, with the goal of teaching students the skill of letter writing, came to Snider in the shower. 

“I came up with the idea just from the title alone, and through puns and repetition I came up with the idea of Senior2Senior,” Snider said. The concept took off, and after the success of the project last spring, the Senior Center enthusiastically demanded its return. The project is now set up to be completed each semester. 

Not only does the project teach seniors how to write letters, it also serves as an opportunity for them to form bonds with a different generation in the community: Senior Citizens. Each participating senior at the high school is assigned a Senior Citizen, and they send letters back and forth to each other for months. It all culminates in the moment they get to meet each other for the first time in person at the end of the semester, bearing gifts and many hugs.

Juan Rodriguez Trejo is one of the high school seniors who participated in the project.

“It has been an interesting experience of getting back and forth to a person that you regularly wouldn’t talk to,” Rodriguez Trejo said. “It’s fascinating to know someone else’s story.”

Sandi Winston, a Davie resident who is involved in many events at the Senior Center, participated in the program in the spring and continued to do so this semester with a new student. 

“We really enjoyed each other,” Winston said. “She’s been delightful to write back and forth with. I’ve learned a lot about her; one of the biggest eye-openers for me has been learning [her] language… I love being around young people.”

These letters have brought these two different kinds of seniors together for the second time, and both groups have felt the impact of making a new, meaningful connection between generations. There’s no doubt that the Senior2Senior project will continue connecting our community and bringing people together through the power of writing.