Social Media Column: Love Letters 2 Strangers

Published in the February 12, 2013 issue of The Edmonton Sun.

Linda’s social media column can be found every Tuesday in the Edmonton Sun.

Love Letters 2 Strangers

Ashley Green wants to inspire people.

The Edmonton-based photographer (@PhotoswithAsh) wanted to do something to help the people around her – friends, family, and strangers alike.

What she came up with – Love Letters 2 Strangers (@LL2Strangers) – has now grown into a movement that Green hopes is inspiring “appreciation for every person you encounter, one little note at a time.”

The basic idea behind Love Letters 2 Strangers is writing “love letters” and giving them away. The letters may include a joke, a quote or a more meaningful message.

The notes are meant to brighten people’s days, or inspire in some way.

“It can be someone you know, but it can also be the person who always washes your car or makes you coffee, bags your groceries or is sitting beside you on the bus,” Green says.

“There’s opportunity to show a little kindness and to remind people in the City of Edmonton, that the world is a lot smaller and we’re all a lot more connected than people realize.”

The project began about a year and a half ago and has been growing ever since.

Green posts images of the letters on her blog, spreads the word via Twitter, and organizes love letter-writing workshops that’s now attracting so many people she needs to find a bigger space for the events.

She’s taking the idea one step further with her latest project called #Yeg1000Love.

“We will have big piles of love letters and just be handing them out to people and talking about the project and reminding them that love and Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be about just your significant other, it can be about the people in your community and appreciating the people around you,” Green says.

Dozens of Edmontonians gathered over the weekend at a workshop to help write more than 1,000 love letters for #Yeg1000Love.

Beginning Tuesday night, Green and volunteers will hand out the letters to strangers in a three-day movement described as one big, mushy, explosion of love.

Green’s ambition, this idea, and hearing stories of how these little notes have affected Edmontonians, is inspiring.

Truly, small gestures do make a difference. And in a world where we are so connected virtually – it really is a wonderful thing to receive a physical message you can hold.

“I find that there’s a lot of people who forget the importance of what words can mean when they’re written down and staring you in the face,” Green says.

I also love how this movement is organized and gains momentum through social media – but the impact is made in person.

It’s so exciting and I can’t wait to attend my first Love Letters 2 Strangers workshop. You should too.

Sign up to help hand out love letters for #Yeg1000Love – and get the latest information on upcoming workshops at www.loveletters2strangers.com.

Some Tweets of the Week

@_mcruuz: Had the lovliest conversation with a nice old lady. We’ve established Monday & Friday mornings at the bus stop as our meeting dates. #yeg

@MattChunks: I had a blast volunteering for the ABC Headstart Program. Tuesdays are now my favourite day of the week. #yeg

@kale_mac: I love when the days start giving us more than 8 hours of sun. #yeg #winter

@MattieMixtape: 118 Ave has so many hidden gems. I love it. yeg

@willmimi: If everyone else could see our sunset right now, they’d never wonder why we live in #yeg. #bigsky

Click here to read the column on the Edmonton Sun website!

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