Have You Heard About Distant Pals?

Wisconsin Families for Hands & Voices and the Wisconsin Educational Services Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing encourage you to sign up your deaf or hard of hearing child for the Distant Pals Program.

Distant Pals is a pen-pal program for children (ages 6 - 18) who are deaf or hard of hearing. Many children who are deaf or hard of hearing throughout Wisconsin sometimes feel isolated and question where they fit in. The goal of this program is to connect children who are deaf and hard of hearing throughout the state and provide them with peer relationships and healthy role models.

The goals of the Distant Pals Program are:

• To encourage safe, healthy, and positive relationships between children who are deaf and hard of hearing;
• To support literacy skills through letter writing and organized activities;
• To cultivate peer to peer relationships and mentor/mentee relationships and encourage appropriate social skills through these interactions.

An activity will be mailed out to each participant of Distant Pals six times per year. The deaf or hard of hearing child/student is required to complete this activity within two weeks. Activities include writing a simple letter and may also involve making a scrap book page, creating a care package, writing a special story, making a puzzle, etc. Pals can also write letters to one another at any given time.

When the activity or letter is complete, it is mailed to Distant Pals. Personal addresses ARE NOT given out. All letters and activities for individual participants go through Wisconsin Families for Hands & Voices; however, teachers can also sign up on behalf of their students and all letters and activities for classroom participants go through WESPDHH. This allows Distant Pals to remain safe and ensures all children regularly receive something special in the mail. Children and schools who consistently participate in Distant Pals receive special prizes!

We currently have approximately 240 kids participating in the Distant Pals Program. The activities are completed with the unique, personal style of each participant and are eagerly anticipated by their Pals! Our first gathering for the kids to meet their Distant Pal took place on December 15, 2006, with another meeting to be held at our 5th Annual Statewide Parent Conference in March, 2007. What a wonderful opportunity to bring our deaf/hard of hearing students and their families together!

If you would have any questions/comments about the Distant Pals Program, please contact Laurie Nelson, Distant Pals Co-Coordinator, at 608-266-6438 or laurie.nelson@dpi.state.wi.us.