The Letter Project is working hard as it begins its first semester as an official student organization at Kent State.

The Letter Project is an active affiliate of the Project To Love Ourselves. Project To Love Ourselves is a national organization dedicated to encouraging collaboration over competition among women. The Letter Project embodies its greater organization by empowering young women who are facing challenges, big or small. The group does so by handwriting letters to girls around the world who are in need of extra love and support.

Emily Camarato, a junior fashion merchandising major and founder of the Kent State chapter, said that she originally learned about the national organization through a close friend’s Instagram page, and needed to learn more.

“It was so cute, and I am really into girl power stuff like that, so I said ‘tell me everything’,” said Camarato. From there Camarato reached out to the founder of Project To Love Ourselves, Whitney Saxon, to learn about how to grow the organization at Kent.

“She was so excited (that I reached out), because she has been trying to spread the brand throughout campuses,” Camarato said.

“I wish I had somebody writing me letters when I was going through something, because I had so many confidence issues growing up,” Camarato said.  “If somebody had written me letters like this it definitely would have changed my life, so I want to make a difference with other girls who are going through stuff.”

In order to receive letters, a girl must be nominated by a friend or family member on toloveourselves.com, from there the writing assignments are delegated to The Letter Project chapters across the country through a “writers portal.”

While the Kent chapter of The Letter Project writes letters for women across the country, they have also written letters for women within the Kent State community.

“Typically I am a pretty ‘to myself’ kind of person, I don’t talk about things and I don’t like to give people an inkling that something’s wrong ,” said Hanna Beck, a letter writer who also received letters during an overly stressful part of her fall semester.

“It made me tear up just knowing that (20 girls) took the time out of their day to assure me that everything is fine, and that it’s okay to take a breath and a step back,” Beck said, “I still have them, and I read most of them every other day.”

The first official Write Night of The Letter Project will be held in room 206 of Bowman Hall on Wednesday, February 21, at 8:00 p.m.

Madeline Scalzi is the student life and education reporter. Contact her at [email protected].