With the holiday season approaching, many look for opportunities to bring joy and festive spirits to those who are struggling. Letters of Love does just that; it is a national, nonprofit organization supporting children battling diseases through kindhearted letters.
Letters of Love was created in 2018 by Grace Berbig after her mom died from leukemia. Grace and her sisters made cards throughout their mother’s cancer journey to show how much they loved and appreciated her. Following her mother’s death, Grace devoted her life to bringing kindness and support to people fighting diseases.
Today, Letters of Love Global consists of 284 chapters with 18 participating countries, reaching over 300,000 patients in pediatric hospitals worldwide.
Cassidy Rudy, a senior studying sociology pre-law, and Sophia Boston, a senior studying communications, brought Letters of Love to Ohio University in Spring 2024. Rudy said she likes participating in philanthropic work with her sorority and wanted more charitable opportunities for students.
“I wanted to give back to sick children, and it made me happy in a way that I was doing something for someone else and not just myself,” Rudy said. “I wanted other people to have that experience and that feeling.”
Boston said Rudy initially brought up the idea after seeing a post by a Letters of Love member at Miami University. They brainstormed creating their own chapter at OU due to their shared passion for helping others.
“I feel like we all have a deeper purpose, and I feel like Letters of Love was a great outlet that we brought to OU,” Boston said. “I really just like the hands-on experience of helping people.”
Letters of Love Global works to send out cards to families around big holidays. OU chapter’s first meeting was Jan. 22, 2024, where Rudy said around 60 people came to create Valentine’s Day cards.
“I think our first meeting was my best accomplishment,” Rudy said. “So many people came out, I think we sent over 200 cards. It was amazing, and going through (the cards) is so heartwarming.”
The cards from OU’s chapter are sent to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. Rudy said students come out to disconnect from their phones, therapeutically draw, connect with each other and perform acts of kindness.
Letters of Love at OU also collaborates with sororities, fraternities and other organizations that require service hours for membership.
“If you do five cards it’s one service hour,” Rudy said. “So you might as well make more cards and get the service hours in. You're just drawing, and it's going to a good cause.”
Gabby Boston, a sophomore studying marketing, was named the new president of OU’s Letters of Love chapter for 2025. She was in charge of merchandise when the club first came to campus and said she is excited to lead the organization and spread positivity to children with illnesses.
“ I love it … seeing people's creative side come out, and then sometimes we even get pictures of the children opening the cards,” Gabby Boston said. “It's just so nice to see a shine of light on their face because they're going through a really hard time.”
Gabby Boston is Sophia Boston’s younger sister and she was encouraged to join last year because of Sophia Boston’s leadership position. Sophia Boston said she is eager to watch her sister take over the organization since everyone on last year’s executive board is graduating this year.
“I'm so excited that she's president,” Sophia Boston said. “She's going to do such a great job. It definitely was interesting getting to work with my sister on an exec team … I’m rooting for her.”
The next Letters of Love meeting with the new executive board will be Dec. 2 from 6 to 7 p.m. in Morton Hall 127, where students will make holiday cards. The organization encourages everyone to come out and spread extra cheer for the families who need it most.
“These kids that are in hospitals are getting handwritten cards by anyone of any age, and it's making their entire day,” Sophia Boston said.
