State Journal’s Helping Hands seeks student letters

Helping Hands, the Wisconsin State Journal’s letter-writing program, can help you do just that.

Here’s how it works. Like every year, the newspaper invites children and teenagers to write a brief letter about someone in their community who might need a helping hand during the holidays.

Students aged 18 and under must explain what they would do if they had $200 to help someone else. Helping Hands coordinators will choose some of these letters and help carry out the authors’ plans to help a classmate, friend, neighbor or community member. And selected entries, edited for length and to avoid identifying recipients, will be published in the State Journal in December.

Teachers, we encourage you to send letters from your students. Helping Hands does not donate to organizations, but rather to individuals and families, so keep that in mind when writing your letter. Letters are carefully reviewed to ensure these gifts are sent to those who need them most.

Over the years, Helping Hands and our letter writers have made the holidays brighter for countless area residents.

Here’s how to submit a letter to Helping Hands:

Email your letter to [email protected] or mail it to: Helping Hands, Attn: Gayle Worland, Wisconsin State Journal, 1901 Fish Hatchery Road, Madison, WI 53711. Families, classes or other groups may submit applications individually or in a single envelope.

Include the following: the author’s first and last name, age, grade level, name of school and community/city, as well as name of a parent/guardian, email address email and telephone number in case we have any questions. Teachers and group leaders, please include your name, email address, and phone number so we can contact you.

The registration deadline is Friday, November 15. All emails and postal mail must be received by this date.

Please email your questions to [email protected]. We are happy to help you.

The Helping Hands program is supported by the State Journal’s Empty Stocking Club and the generosity of our readers. To support Helping Hands, please donate online at emptystockingclub.com or send a check to Empty Stocking Club, Wisconsin State Journal, 1901 Fish Hatchery Road, Madison, WI 53711, and write “Helping Hands” in the memo line.