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Poet Willie Perdomo on the value of writing letters in a digital world

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MTV News: Kids Are Making the World a Better Place by Writing Letters

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MTV News: Kids Are Making the World a Better Place by Writing Letters

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From asking to put a woman on our national currency to successfully advocating for Jedi marriage rights, kids these days are really proving that their letter-writing game is on point, sparking change by crushing it in their correspondence. And they're not the first youngsters to do so. Here are the most inspiring letters online that remind us of the true power of postage.

A boy wanted to help his brother with cerebral palsy go outside, and received $57k to make it happen.

When Tobias Bass, 10, saw his older brother Titus cry about not being able to play outside due to cerebral palsy, he vowed to complete a 5k together. Tobias wrote to an Oklahoma news station, hoping to procure "fancy running pushing" stroller. He didn't even ask for one to keep, just to borrow.

The letter went viral, and a real estate firm donated nearly $57,500 for "training and athletic equipment as they embark on bigger runs and more challenging triathlons," as well as "their medical or educational needs in the future." Tobias can teach us a lot about humility in asking for what we need, all while using it to better the lives of those whom we care most about. Pretty impressive for a 10-year-old.

A girl with two dads encouraged the president to keep fighting for marriage equality -- and got an equally encouraging response.

When 10-year-old Sofia Bailey Klugh sent a letter to President Obama, it was in many ways like a normal thank-you note, but with one big difference - she was thanking him for supporting her parents' relationship. Klugh has two dads who "love each other," she wrote, "but at school, kids think that it's gross and weird," which "really hurts my heart and feelings."

To Sofia's (and her parents') surprise, Obama wrote back with advice about dealing with the negative judgment of others. Her original letter was enough in itself to show kids with LGBT parents that they are not alone, and that bullies' teasing is the only "gross" thing here.

A pro hockey player's daughter landed him a contract in order to see him more, and brought attention to kids in similar lonely situations.

11-year-old Jordyn Leopold became both daughter and sports agent of the year with her letter to the Minnesota Wild. She successfully requested the team make a trade for her father, Jordan Leopold, so he could be closer to home.

The letter did more than put pressure on the Wild to acquire him. As her dad explains, the unprompted gesture brought attention to the strain long-distance parenting can place on families, for professional athletes and many other careers.

At the very least, Jordyn helped a hockey team that has, as she delicately puts it, "not been winning games and you lovly coaches are most likely mad about that but your team needs more D men." Kids close the darndest deals.

A boy asked Santa for the gift of equality for his transgender sister, and hopefully changed some minds in the process.

In all the letters Santa gets every year asking for toys, there are a few gems like this one that remind us what our real priorities should be. A fourth grade boy requested equality for "black, white, brown, gay, transgender and every other race," writing specifically and personally about his sister Molly, who came out as transgender at the age of 18.

He acknowledges his family's love for his sister and how lucky they are to have that, but also the painful reality that this is not always the norm. "We have had nothing but support from everyone," his mother told HuffPo, adding, "I don't think he realizes yet he has the power to move people and touch hearts with his words."

A 13-year-old brought national attention to his Chicago neighborhood.

Malik Bryant may not still believe in Santa, but wrote a letter to him anyway as part of a campaign to provide Christmas presents for underprivileged kids. Malik asked for something less material and more difficult to provide: safety in Englewood, on the South Side of Chicago, a neighborhood where that's often uncertain. "I just wanna be safe," he concluded.

The letter went over St. Nick's head, right to President Obama, who offered assurance that spoke to many children in similar situations: "Each day, I strive to ensure communities like yours are safe places to dream, discover and grow. Please know your security is a priority for me in everything I do as President."

Kid President wrote "A Letter To The Future," urging us all to do a little better.

Not to be outdone by the adult president, Kid President took letter-writing to the next level with this message to the future, putting it all in perspective: "Sure, there's bad things in the world, but there's also pizza," so we should "throw kindness around like confetti." (215,000 views isn't bad for an 11-year-old.)

If everyone thought about life the way this pint-size pres does, then we'd know the future is only as awesome as we make it.

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How Kids Are Making The World A Better Place By Writing Letters

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Getty Images From asking to put a woman on our national currency to successfully advocating for Jedi marriage rights, kids these days are really proving that their letter-writing game is on point, sparking change by crushing it in their correspondence. And they're not the first youngsters to do so.

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Writing Letters of Gratitude to Health Care Workers

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Writing Letters of Gratitude to Health Care Workers

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Kids write Letters for Caregivers Part 3 | Great Kindness Challenge 2018

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Example Video Lesson: Letters of Gratitude

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Example Video Lesson: Letters of Gratitude

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Writing Letters to Express Gratitude (Video Mini-Lesson).webm

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Open Letter from Candadian Business Leaders

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Open Letter from Candadian Business Leaders

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The organizations and employers we represent compete fiercely every day. Today we stand united in a shared battle against COVID-19.

We urge every leader in the country to immediately shift focus to the singular objective of slowing the pace of transmission of this coronavirus.

International experience demonstrates that social distancing is the only effective method, and is in the best interests of our employees, their families and our communities.

While this will have significant economic impact on our businesses in the short term, it is critical to weathering this storm and will hasten the recovery.

Governments across the country have acted yet these measures will only be effective if all employers step up and do their part to protect the nation's health and welfare.

The undersigned have taken important steps and urge your organizations to join us:

· Urge your employees to stop all non-essential travel, whether for personal or business reasons. Travel exposes people to infection, increasing risk for their personal and professional contacts.

· Enable your employees to practise social distancing. Facilitate work-from-home for all non-critical business functions. Work with government, if necessary, to ensure sick pay for workers. Cancel any in-person gatherings or events. Ensure that mental-health services are in place to support those in need during a period of social isolation.

· Maintain essential services to Canadians. In co-ordination with government, develop clear guidelines to protect the health of employees who provide critical services to the public.

· Understand that your employees are looking to you for leadership and trusted information in turbulent times. Share trusted advice from public health agencies and communicate consistently and clearly with your employees. Recap the latest guidance and show them what you're doing to support it.

On behalf of all of us, including millions of colleagues and employees, thank you to all healthcare workers on the front lines on whom we are relying to help us through this emergency. We have enormous respect and gratitude for your efforts.

Wendy Andrushko President DuPont Canada

Ayman Antoun President IBM Canada

John Baker President and CEO D2L

Scott Balfour President and CEO Emera

Mark Barrenechea Vice Chair and Chief Executive Officer OpenText Corporation

Kevin Beingessner Chief Executive Officer Coril Holdings

Scott Bell President and Managing Director General Motors of Canada

Kilian Berz Managing Director and Senior Partner The Boston Consulting Group

Mirko Bibic President and CEO BCE Inc. and Bell Canada

Charles Brindamour Chief Executive Officer Intact Financial

John Chen Executive Chairman and CEO BlackBerry

Neil Chrystal President and CEO Polygon Homes

Donald Clow President and Chief Executive Officer Crombie REIT

Dean Connor President and CEO Sun Life

Guy Cormier President and CEO Desjardins Group

Ben Cowan-Dewar Co-Founder and Managing Director Cabot Links

Keith Creel President and Chief Executive Officer Canadian Pacific Railway

Stephan Crétier President & CEO Gardaworld

Neil Cunningham CEO and President Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP)

Rola Dagher President Cisco Systems Canada

Thomas d'Aquino Founding CEO Business Council of Canada

Dennis Darby President and CEO Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters

Dax Dasilva Chief Executive Officer Lightspeed POS

Daniel Daviau President and CEO Canaccord Genuity Group

Marc de La Bruyère Managing Director Maclab Development Group

Charles Deguire President, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder Kinova

Paul Desmarais III Chairman and CEO Sagard Holdings

Paul Desmarais Jr. Chair Power Corporation of Canada

Victor Dodig President and CEO CIBC

Ian C. Dundas CEO Enerplus

Ian Edwards President and CEO SNC-Lavalin

Charles Emond President and CEO Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)

Dawn Farrell President and Chief Executive Officer TransAlta Corporation

David Filipchuk President and Chief Executive Officer PCL Constructors

Chris Fowler President & CEO CWB Financial Group

Gordon J. Fyfe CEO British Columbia Investment Management Corporation

Louis Gagnon President Mercer U.S. and Canada

Sabrina Geremia Country Director Google Canada

Russ Girling President and CEO TC Energy

Tim Gitzel President and CEO Cameco

Blake Goldring Executive Chairman AGF Management Limited

Roy Gori President and CEO Manulife Financial

Christine Healy President and Chief Executive Officer Total E&P Canada

Andrew Hider Chief Executive Officer ATS Automation Tooling Systems

Blake Hutcheson President OMERS

Goldy Hyder President and CEO Business Council of Canada

Gord Johnston President & CEO Stantec

Michael Katchen Founder and Chief Executive Officer Wealthsimple

Faisal Kazi President and Chief Executive Officer Siemens Canada

Hassan Khosrowshahi Chairman Persis Holdings Ltd.

Jeff Kinnaird President Home Depot of Canada

Patrick Lamarre President Kiewit Canada Group

Michael Latimer CEO OMERS

Don Lindsay President and CEO Teck Resources

Stephen Liptrap President and Chief Executive Officer Morneau Shepell

Mark Little President and Chief Executive Officer Suncor Energy

Jon Love Chief Executive Officer KingSett Capital

Marcelo Lu President BASF Canada

Elio Luongo Chief Executive Officer and Senior Partner, Canada KPMG LLP

Dr. Mark Machin President and CEO CPP Investments

Chuck Magro President and CEO Nutrien

Nicolas Marcoux Chief Executive Officer and Senior Partner PwC Canada

Bharat Masrani Group President and CEO TD Bank

Michael McCain President and CEO Maple Leaf Foods

Mike McDerment Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Freshbooks

David McKay President and CEO Royal Bank of Canada

Gordon McKenzie President and Chief Executive Officer Canpotex Limited

John McKenzie Interim CEO TMX

Al Monaco President and Chief Executive Officer Enbridge

Andrew Moor President and CEO Equitable Bank

Doug Murphy President and Chief Executive Officer Corus Entertainment

Joe Natale President and Chief Executive Officer Rogers Communications

Jeffrey Orr President and Chief Executive Officer Power Corporation of Canada

Rob Peabody CEO Husky Energy

Kevin Peesker President Microsoft Canada

John Peller Chairman and CEO Andrew Peller Limited

Rob Penner President and CEO Bison Transport

Cole Pinnow President Pfizer Canada

Sam Pollock Chief Executive Officer Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

Brian Porter President and CEO Scotiabank

Alex Pourbaix President and CEO Cenovus Energy

Ricardo Prosperi President, Canada Tenaris

Dani Reiss President & Chief Executive Officer Canada Goose

Michael Rencheck President and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Power

Hartley Richardson President & Chief Executive Officer James Richardson & Sons Limited

John Risley Chairman and Chief Executive Officer CFFI Ventures

Jean-Jacques Ruest President & Chief Executive Officer CN

Jeffrey Russell President, Canada, and Senior Managing Director Accenture

Steve Sammut President and CEO Rocky Mountaineer

Lino Saputo, Jr. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Saputo

George Schindler President & Chief Executive Officer CGI Group

Sam Sebastian Chief Executive Officer Pelmorex Corp.

Bradley Shaw Chief Executive Officer Shaw Communications

Jad Shimaly Chairman and Chief Executive Officer EY Canada

Ian D. Smith CEO Clearwater Seafoods

Geoff Smith President and CEO Ellis Don

Stephen Smith Chairman and Chief Executive Officer First National Financial

David Smith Chief Executive Officer Keyera Corp.

Nancy Southern Chair and CEO ATCO Ltd.

Ronald Stern President and Chief Executive Officer Alberta Newsprint Company

Sandra Stuart Group General Manager, President and CEO HSBC Bank Canada

John Sullivan President and Chief Executive Officer The Cadillac Fairview Corporation

Garrick Tiplady Managing Director Facebook and Instagram Canada

Guy Turcotte Founder, President and CEO Stone Creek Resorts

Louis Vachon President and CEO National Bank of Canada

Nicole Verkindt Founder and Chief Executive Officer OMX

Anthony Viel Managing Partner and Chief Executive Deloitte Canada

Galen Weston Executive Chairman Loblaw Companies

Darryl White CEO BMO Financial Group

Penny Wise President 3M Canada Mark Wiseman Founder FCLTGlobal

Mary Ann Yule President and CEO HP Canada

Jeff Zweig President and CEO Mosaic Forest Management

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open letter from canadian business leaders

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Opinion: Leaders need one focus, to help stop the spread of coronavirus: an open letter from Canadian business leaders

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"The organizations and employers we represent compete fiercely every day. Today we stand united in a shared battle against COVID-19″

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There seems to be a lot of bad right now but there is a lot of good going around as well. We have heard people giving away toilet paper, milk and other food. But during this time there are some unsung heroes that are helping make the world continue on.

This letter is for all the retail workers, those who are stocking shelves, truck drivers, teachers, police officers, doctors, nurses and so many others who are going unnoticed right now.

If it weren't for those retail working making sure that you could purchase products, touching the money and cards being handed to them, and doing their best to ensure that no one person walks out with all the toilet paper and hand sanitizer. If it wasn't for the truckers driving extra hours and the people who stock the shelves, the stores would be even more bare than they are now.

The doctors and nurses who are working tirelessly to make sure people get healthy, aren't infected and trying to prevent the spread, thank you. To those police officers, fire fighters and other public service personnel, thank you.

And let's be honest with ourselves right now, how many of us are going to order food for delivery now that lobbies are closing and stores may not have our favorite brand of bread. Those people deserve a thank you as well.

Being in customer service is hard on a regular day but right now, dealing with people who are scared, angry and quite honestly, irrational, it is an even harder profession. Thank you so much for what you do and helping to try to keep the world turning.

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Open Letter: To The Unsung Heroes During Coronavirus Scare

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We have heard people giving away toilet paper, milk and other food. But during this time there are some unsung heroes that are helping make the world continue on.

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Kids Write Letters to Presidents

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Newsela | Letters to presidents have a long history

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Kids have been sending letters - for thanks, advice and requests for help - to presidents for generations.

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Girl writes to Stephen Curry about

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Newsela | Girl, 9, asks Stephen Curry why his sneakers don't come in sizes for girls

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NBA's Stephen Curry responds to young fan's letter with a promise for sneakers in girl's sizes.