The Gratitude Letters begins with a letter and continues with a conversation, bringing together the writer, the reader and a shared moment in time.
Our aim is simple: to honor the people who shaped us and inspire others to do the same.
In an age of division and discord, we celebrate the relationships that hold, the ones that prove resilient and quietly uplifting.
We present these stories in the voices of the people who know them best, preserving memories that might otherwise be lost. And we are rooted in community, gathering people across generations to listen, on the page and in person.
You might write a letter to a friend, parent, grandparent, child, neighbor, teacher, pastor, student, doctor, counselor, mentor or mentee – someone you admire and wish to thank for something they have done or said that, however many years later, you have not forgotten.
The Gratitude Letters emerged in response to an invitation from Lilly Endowment’s national faith and storytelling initiative as a place for the thank-yous that never got said.
The biggest barrier to direct participation in The Gratitude Letters may be the writing part. The downside of letters is that they are often never started. Or finished. Or sent. Sometimes they sit as email drafts or lengthy texts that never get sent. For many people, maybe most of us, this is hard writing.
Whether this is the first time you are thanking someone or the first time you are doing so intentionally and publicly, we can help you bring the letter to life. We’ll provide prompts and guidelines for writing the letter. [link]
From the letters received, we’ll select letters to share, inviting you to deliver it in person in our recording studio or through a video conference call, reading aloud to the person you wish to thank – and then following where the conversation leads.
Your time together will be recorded and become part of a growing collection of letters intended to prompt all of us to consider the impact and the quality of our relationships.
The Gratitude Letters is an intergenerational project that pushes back against boundaries of time and space in which someone of any age can write to someone older or younger, to a person who is alive and well or someone who died years ago, to a neighbor or a person a continent away.
As our tagline says, it’s never too late – and always a good time – to say thank you.