Dear Stranger Connecting Oregonians, one letter at a time, Deadline: May 30

A Project by Oregon Humanities

Dear Stranger is a recurring letter-exchange project that connects Oregonians through the mail to share experiences, beliefs, and ideas. Since 2014, more than 500 people have exchanged letters through the project. Everyone is invited to participate—whatever your age, your place of residence, or your circumstances, Dear Stranger wants to hear from you.

When we planned this spring’s round of Dear Stranger, we wanted to get people thinking about this year’s upcoming elections and share the things they are holding in their hearts and minds for those elections. That was before the outbreak of COVID-19 brought a new urgency to creating and maintaining human connection. As we temporarily separate ourselves from our in-person communities, this opportunity to reach out to strangers feels newly important.

Given the circumstances of the moment, we’re adding a second prompt, inviting you to reflect on the things that the current pandemic reveals or changes for you, your community, or the country. And if you want to ignore both prompts and write about something else entirely, that’s OK too.

Learn more and participate by visiting the Oregon Humanities website.