Tag Archives: Year of Giving

Day 92: Mrs. Wunderlich

Posted on April 3, 2015 | Leave a comment

You may recall on Day 59 I sent my letter to a woman named Charlotte who was celebrating her 98th birthday. Unfortunately my letter was returned to me today with a dull yellow sticker on it stating:

RETURN TO SENDER
UNDELIVERABLE AS ADDRESSED
UNABLE TO FORWARD

That made me sad, I was very excited for Ms. Charlotte to get my letter as she was one of my favorite $10 recipients of my Year of Giving. Thankfully, I remembered that she had a sister that lived in Annapolis. After a little sleuth work I found her contact information and sat down today to write her a letter.

Day 92

You can see a glimpse of the lining I created for the envelope.

 

Mrs. Wunderlich, 

In August of 2010 I met you, your husband and your sister Charlotte in Annapolis – I’ve included a few photographs from that day. You may recall I was giving a stranger $10 every day for a year while I was out of work and on Day 248 I gave my $10 to Charlotte. It was a lot of fun.

charlotte todd and jewell-2

Ms. Charlotte, Mrs. Wunderlich, Mr. Wunderlich

reed charlotte and jewell-2

 

I’ve embarked on a new adventure this year were I write someone a handwritten letter every day for a year and I thought about Charlotte and remembered her birthday was Feb. 28th. I mailed her a card for her 98th birthday to the Metairie address where she used to live but it was returned to me – it said it was “undeliverable as addressed.” Do you have a current address for her? I hope that she is well – she was one of my favorite people I gave my $10 to. I also very much enjoyed meeting you and Mr. Wunderlich and hope that you are well. 

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Reed Sandridge

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Day 73: Rich

Posted on March 14, 2015 | Leave a comment

RichCardOnce again my Year of Giving and Year of Letters lives have intersected. This past week I received a handwritten letter from Rich from Phoenixville, PA. We’d been in touch five years ago when I was unemployed and giving $10 away every day. He’s an interesting (his business card even confirms that!) and creative guy who has several well written blogs worth checking out: 1 Picture 217 Words, Rich’s House of Vinyl and The Dichotomy of the Dog. He also makes custom notebooks – check’em out.

Thanks for the letters this week everyone – keep them coming!

Day 73 Rich

Dear Rich,

What a pleasant surprise I had yesterday when I discovered your handwritten letter in my mailbox. Thank you! I do recall our exchange from when I was doing the Year of Giving – I was touched by the tribute you were doing with raising funds for the American Cancer Society in honor of your father.

Clearly we both place an immense amount of importance on family. I see it through your blog writings – from your complex (and humorous I might add) relationship with National Lampoons Christmas Vacation to donating proceeds from the Dirty Dancing notebooks to your great aunt Ellie’s shot glass!

Your blogs are well written and inspire creativity. I’m in awe of your passion and knowledge of music. I wish I had that kind of relationship with music but with the exception of a handful of artists I pretty much just go with the flow of whatever is playing whether it be Bach or the Beastie Boys – just no Justin Bieber please.

I was not familiar with Lincoln’s unsent letter to Gen. Meade – thank you for sharing, I will certainly look that up and I agree it would make an interesting post on the Year of Letters. Furthermore, your thought of doing a tour at Laurel Hill, or anywhere for that matter, and enriching the experience through the readings of letters and diaries is an excellent idea. I hope you pursue that.

Rich, I’m glad that possibly the Year of Letters has played a small role in igniting that spark inside you to return to letter-writing after decades of not writing. Keep it up, trust me, it’s rewarding.

Sincerely,
Reed

P.S. I will let you know if I am in the Phoenixville area – I have friends who live in nearby Spring City. I recall Bridge Street – charming downtown area where I’ve eaten a decent Mexican meal at Hacienda La Michoacana as well as enjoyed a few tasty beers across the street at Iron Hill Brewery.

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Day 70: Leigh Anne & Sean Tuohy

Posted on March 11, 2015 | Leave a comment


TuohyBookMost people are familiar with the film The Blind Side – the movie based on Michael Lewis’ book about NFL football tackle Michael Oher and his journey to professional football. Part of that story is him being adopted by Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy who live in Memphis, TN.

In 2010 Leigh Anne and Sean wrote their own book In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving. One day my brother called me and said that his mother-in-law had mentioned that I was mentioned in the book. I got a copy and sure enough I’m mentioned in regards to my Year of Giving project. Pretty cool.

I’ve always meant to thank them – so here goes. By the way, I just read this week that Oher signed a $2.5 million deal with the Carolina Panthers. I hope he has a great season for them – they could sure use a good blocker on their offensive line.

Day 70

Dear Leigh Anne and Sean,

For several years I’ve meant to send you a note to thank you for your thoughtful mention of my Year of Giving project in your book In a Heartbeat. It was a pleasant surprise to come across.

Your personal story is inspiring and I’m looking forward to reading your forthcoming book. 

All the best to you and thank you for everything you do for your community and for others.

Reed

PS. I recall that you own some Taco Bells – I sure hope that you’re offering the Sriracha Quesarito down there!

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Day 59: Ms. Charlotte

Posted on February 28, 2015 | Leave a comment

charlotte-2On August 19th of 2010 I met 93-year-old Charlotte as she sat on a bench with her sister enjoying the parade of sailboats gliding through Annapolis’ gentle harbor. It was Day 248 of my Year of Giving and I was looking for someone to give my daily $10 t0. Sitting next to her sister Jewell, the New Olreans resident had been in the Baltimore-Washington area for less than 8 hours – having just arrived that morning.

Ms. Charlotte is full of life and has an inviting smile that makes anyone feel welcome. It wasn’t long before I was sitting next to her captivated by the stories of her 10 children and the travels she’s made around the world. My favorite story perhaps though was about her late husband. They went on their first date on a Saturday evening during the final years of Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. On that date he asked her out for the remaining 51 Saturdays that year. Smart guy.

I visited with Ms. Charlotte in 2011. I was in New Orleans for business and wrote to her to see if she might want to get together. It wasn’t easy to schedule. She had plans to go to a baseball game on Monday night with one of her sons and Wednesdays were reserved for bridge – so we ended up meeting Tuesday evening. I picked her up and took her to a local restaurant that had fresh seafood and all the typical cajun delicacies.

Of all 365 people I met during my Year of Giving, Ms. Charlotte was one of my favorites and I wanted to send her a note today to wish her happiness on her 98th birthday.

Day59

Dear Ms. Charlotte,

Happy 98th birthday! I met you in the summer of 2010 when you were visiting your sister Jewell in Annapolis. I was unemployed and had made a commitment to give $10 to someone every day for a year. I met you and gave you my $10 on Day 248. I remember the day very well – you were wearing an elegant white outfit accented with a floral scarf.

I later enjoyed visiting with you when I was in New Orleans in 2011 and taking you to dinner. Your passion for life is contagious and I cherish the fact that our lives crossed paths.

charlotteI hope that your health is well and that you are still getting together with your bridge group on Wednesdays.

Have a wonderful birthday.

Warm wishes from Washington, DC.
Reed Sandridge

 

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Day 58: Michelle

Posted on February 27, 2015 | Leave a comment

When I started the Year of Letters I thought that I might just get random handwritten letters from people. My address is listed on here and people know how much I like sending and receiving handwritten correspondence, so you never know. It turns out that I’ve received my 2nd and 3rd handwritten letter this week from people who I haven’t sent a letter.

Note from Michelle

Note from Michelle

One was from Michelle – a generous young woman from Charlotte who I have been in touch with since my Year of Giving project. Back in 2010 she provided clothes for Phillip from Day 75 of that project as well as bought an electric blanket for Bill on Day 330 who was sleeping outdoors but near an electric outlet. That was so kind of her.

Today I took a moment and wrote Michelle back.

Day5859-2

Dear Michelle,

Thank you so much for your letter – it made my day to receive a note handwritten to me. I appreciate you connecting me with Kacy – her projects are interesting and inspiring. Speaking of inspiring, your 40 in 40 commitment is very cool. I also love that you are going to make a quilt out of the t-shirts – that is certain to be a meaningful keepsake to remind you of your extraordinary achievement.

I did some embossing on the outside of the card.

I did some embossing on the outside of the card.

I don’t get to Charlotte often – in fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever been out of the airport (nice rocking chairs!), but if I go some day I will definitely let you know. And please do the same if you are ever in DC.

All the best and I look forward to following your 40 in 40 journey!
Reed

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