Questions parents ask

Kindness By Mail helps children send real letters to other participating children through a parent-guided, reviewed mail process.

Families write at home, mail letters to our office, and we review each letter before it is forwarded. We check for personal contact details, private information, unkind language, concerning topics, and anything that should not be shared through Kindness By Mail.

Approved letters are placed in a new envelope and forwarded without sharing home addresses between families.

Families complete the required forms, help their child write a kind and appropriate letter, and mail it to our office with the completed submission slip.

A parent or legal guardian must review the letter before sending it to us. Once we receive it, Kindness By Mail reviews the letter before forwarding it to another participating child in a similar age range when possible.

During review, we look for personal contact details, last names, home addresses, school names, social media handles, unkind or inappropriate language, concerning topics, requests for secrecy, pressure, or attempts to move communication outside Kindness By Mail.

Home addresses and direct contact information are never shared between participating families. Because parent involvement is part of the process on both sides, the receiving parent or legal guardian should also review the letter before giving it to their child.

Children ages 2 through 17 may participate with permission and involvement from a parent or legal guardian.

Children do not need to write independently. A parent or legal guardian may help with spelling, typing, organizing ideas, or writing down the child’s words. The letter should always reflect what the child wants to say.

Choose a membership. Then complete one Parent Permission Form for your household and a separate Child Letter Preference Form for each participating child. Both forms can be found under Forms & Printables in the website footer.

Help your child write a kind and appropriate letter at home. Review the letter, print and complete the required submission slip, and mail everything to our office. The submission slip can also be found under Forms & Printables.

We will review the letter before forwarding it through the Kindness By Mail process. Once your child’s letter has been forwarded, we will email you to let you know.

Yes. One child can participate, or multiple children in the same household can participate through a standard or family plan.

A parent or legal guardian should complete one Parent Permission Form for the household. Each participating child must have their own Child Letter Preference Form.

Standard and family plans allow siblings to share letter credits.

Yes. Many children need help writing, spelling, organizing their thoughts, or putting their ideas on paper.

A parent or legal guardian may help write or type the letter, but the message should reflect what the child wants to share. Parents can support the writing process, but the ideas and message should come from the child.

Yes. Protecting your family’s privacy is a core part of how Kindness By Mail works.

We do not share home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, school names, social media accounts, or other direct contact information with participating families.

All letters are mailed to our office first, reviewed for safety and privacy, and then forwarded through our system. This allows children to send kind letters and build connections without sharing direct contact information.

Yes. Whenever your child begins a new match, their letter will be forwarded to another participating child your family does not already know. Your child may be matched with different children over time or may choose to continue writing to an active Kindness By Mail connection.

Every letter is sent to Kindness By Mail first and reviewed before it is forwarded. During review, we check for personal contact details, private information, unkind language, concerning topics, requests for secrecy, pressure, attempts to move communication outside Kindness By Mail, and anything else that does not follow our letter guidelines.

Children do not receive one another’s home addresses or direct contact information. Parents and legal guardians must also review letters before sending them and before giving received letters to their child.

Adults may not participate as pen pals or write personal letters directly to children through Kindness By Mail.

Parents and legal guardians may help their own child prepare a letter, but the message must reflect what the child wants to say. Kindness By Mail is designed for child-to-child letter exchanges through a parent-guided, reviewed process.

No. All communication must stay within the Kindness By Mail process.

Children may not exchange home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, school information, social media handles, usernames, or other ways to communicate privately outside the program.

This allows children to enjoy meaningful letter writing while keeping the process parent-guided, reviewed, and privacy protecting.

Children may share:

• Their approved Letter Name/Alias from their Child Letter Preference Form
• Their exact age
• Their general interests, hobbies, and favorite activities
• Favorite books, games, animals, sports, movies, colors, foods, or school subjects
• General family details, such as “I have a brother” or “we have a dog”
• Their state, if the family chooses to share it

Sharing a state is allowed, but it is not encouraged or required.

Children should not use a legal first name, last name, or nickname unless it is the same as the approved Letter Name listed on their form. They should also avoid sharing details that could identify or locate them, such as their city, school, team name, church name, home address, phone number, email address, or social media handle.

Children should not include:

• Last names
• Full Names of family members, friends, teachers, coaches, neighbors, or other people in their life
• Home addresses
• Phone numbers
• Email addresses
• City names
• School names
• Social media handles or usernames
• Neighborhood names
• Local clubs, teams, or organizations
• Specific church, congregation, temple, mosque, synagogue, ward, parish, or meeting place names
• Specific parks, businesses, landmarks, or activity locations
• Other details that could help someone identify or locate the child

Children may talk generally about activities, such as playing soccer, attending church, visiting a park, or taking dance lessons, without naming the specific organization or location.

No. Photographs are not allowed.

Children may include appropriate drawings or simple artwork that follows our privacy and mailing guidelines.

We welcome kind, respectful, and appropriate letters from children.

Letters can be friendly, thoughtful, encouraging, and personal in a safe way. They may include stories about hobbies, favorite activities, books, pets, family traditions, or everyday experiences.

Letters may not include personal contact information, inappropriate or explicit content, threats, bullying, requests for money or gifts, instructions to communicate privately, or anything that goes against our safety guidelines.

Every letter is reviewed by a Kindness By Mail team member before it is forwarded. Safety tools may also support the review process.

We check for personal contact information, concerning language, inappropriate topics, and anything that does not follow our letter guidelines.

Parents and legal guardians also must review letters before sending them to us and before giving received letters to their child.

If a letter includes personal contact information, private identifying details, inappropriate content, concerning language, requests for secrecy, pressure, attempts to move communication outside Kindness By Mail, or anything else that does not follow our guidelines, it will not be forwarded as written.

Depending on the issue, we may contact the parent or legal guardian for clarification or ask for the letter to be corrected and submitted again.

Correcting and resubmitting a letter does not use an additional credit. A letter credit is used only after an approved letter is forwarded.

If there is a serious or repeated concern, Kindness By Mail may decline to forward the letter or may limit or end participation to help protect the children involved.

Families do not choose a specific child for a new match. For safety and privacy, children are matched through the Kindness By Mail process.

Our main focus is matching your child with another participating child as close in age as possible. We also collect information about your child’s interests and letter preferences, but matching based on interests or other preferences is not guaranteed.

If your child has already written to another child through Kindness By Mail and that connection remains active, your child may choose to continue writing to the same connection.

We focus on finding another participating child in a similar age range rather than rushing the process.

If a child has been waiting for 30 days, we will contact the parent or legal guardian.

For a Basic membership, future billing will be paused while the child waits for an appropriate match. Unused credits will remain available during the pause.

For a Standard or Family membership, the membership will remain active so other participating children can continue using it. One additional waiting credit will be added for each full month that the child remains unmatched.

Waiting credits remain available while the Standard or Family membership is active and may be used for up to six months after the membership ends. Any unused waiting credits expire after that period.

Replies are possible, but they are not guaranteed.

If a child chooses to reply, the reply must be sent back through Kindness By Mail. Every reply is reviewed before it is forwarded.

During review, we check for personal contact details, private information, unkind language, concerning topics, requests for secrecy, pressure, attempts to move communication outside Kindness By Mail, and anything else that does not follow our letter guidelines.

Children do not exchange home addresses or direct contact information. Parents or legal guardians must review each letter before sending it to Kindness By Mail and must review every received letter before giving it to their child.

If a connection remains active, your child may continue writing to the same child through Kindness By Mail.

No. Receiving an incoming reply does not use a letter credit.

Each letter sent from your child uses one letter credit, including a reply your child sends to an active pen pal connection.

Once your child turns 18, they can no longer participate in ongoing child-to-child correspondence through Kindness By Mail.

If they have an active pen pal connection, they may send one final letter within 60 days after their 18th birthday. Kindness By Mail may also forward one reply to that final letter.

After the final letter and possible reply, that child-to-child connection will end.

Possibly. Your child will no longer be available for new letters or new matches after the membership ends. However, replies already in transit may still be reviewed and forwarded for up to 60 days. Receiving one of those replies does not require a letter credit or an active membership. After the 60-day period ends, the connection will be closed.

Please mail your letter to:

Kindness By Mail
PO Box 526
Shelley, ID 83274

Please include a completed submission slip with every letter. The submission slip helps us identify the participating child and process the letter correctly.

Customers are responsible for the postage needed to mail their letter and submission slip to Kindness By Mail.

Each child’s letter packet should be flat, flexible, and weigh 1 ounce or less. Please do not include bulky, rigid, lumpy, or oversized items.

Once we receive and approve a letter, we place it in a new envelope and pay the postage to forward it. There is no additional forwarding-postage charge.

Please include:

• Your child’s letter
• A completed submission slip
• Any approved flat drawing or artwork

Each child’s individual submission must fit safely inside a standard envelope and weigh less than 1 ounce total.

A submission slip is a short form that must be included with every letter mailed to Kindness By Mail.

It helps us identify the participating child, connect the letter to the correct account or active connection, and make sure the letter is reviewed and forwarded properly.

Letters sent without a submission slip may be delayed or may not be able to be forwarded.

You can print the submission slip from Forms & Printables in the website footer.

Each child’s individual letter packet must:

• Be flat, flexible, and able to fit inside a standard rectangular letter envelope, such as a #10 or A7 envelope
• Weigh 1 ounce or less total, including the letter, submission slip, and any flat artwork
• Include only paper items, such as a letter, drawing, submission slip, or approved flat artwork

Please do not send rigid, bulky, lumpy, oversized, or unusually shaped mail. Square envelopes, thick items, gifts, toys, food, money, or loose objects should not be included.

Items that do not meet these mailing requirements may be removed before the letter is forwarded.

If removing an item would affect the letter itself, or if we need clarification, we may contact the parent or legal guardian before forwarding.

Yes. You may place letters for more than one child inside the same outer mailing envelope.

Each child’s letter, artwork, and completed submission slip must be kept together in its own inner envelope.

Each child’s individual letter packet must weigh 1 ounce or less and follow all mailing requirements. The outer envelope may weigh more than 1 ounce when it contains multiple children’s packets, so please make sure you add enough postage for the total mailing weight.

Drawings and simple flat artwork are welcome.

Artwork must be kind, appropriate, flat enough to fit inside the envelope, and included as part of the child’s letter packet. Each child’s full letter packet, including the letter, submission slip, and any artwork, must weigh 1 ounce or less.

Drawings should not include last names, home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, school names, social media handles, city names, specific meeting place names, or any identifying local or personal details.

Every letter and included artwork is reviewed before forwarding.

Children may use stickers to decorate a letter or drawing as long as the page remains flat and follows our mailing requirements.

Please do not include:

• Loose stickers or sticker sheets
• Gifts
• Money
• Gift cards
• Food
• Toys
• Jewelry
• Bulky items
• Sharp or breakable items
• Extra items intended for the recipient

Simple flat drawings and artwork are welcome. Extra items are not forwarded.

No. Kindness By Mail currently serves participating families and forwards letters only within the United States.

Once your letter arrives at our office, Kindness By Mail reviews it before forwarding.

During review, we check for personal contact details, private information, unkind language, concerning topics, requests for secrecy, pressure, attempts to move communication outside Kindness By Mail, and anything else that does not follow our letter guidelines.

If approved, we place the letter in a new envelope. For a new match, we forward it to another participating child as close in age as possible. If your child is continuing an active Kindness By Mail connection, we forward it to that same child.

Processing times vary depending on letter volume and whether an appropriate child match is available. We’ll email you once your letter has been forwarded.

Kindness By Mail cannot control USPS delivery times or mail that is lost, delayed, damaged, or misdelivered while in USPS care.

Once we receive your letter, we will review and process it through our system. If it is approved and forwarded, we will email you.

After a letter is forwarded, delivery timing is handled by USPS and may vary.

Your purchase supports the complete Kindness By Mail process, including:

• Reviewing each letter before it is forwarded
• Checking for personal contact details, private information, unkind language, concerning topics, and anything that does not follow our letter guidelines
• Matching approved letters with another participating child or active Kindness By Mail connection
• Processing the submission slip and letter packet
• Placing each approved letter in a new envelope
• Paying the postage to forward approved letters
• Managing replies and active connections through Kindness By Mail

Each membership includes a set number of letter credits each month.

Letter credits are added on the first day of every month and may be used until the end of that month. Unused monthly credits expire and do not roll over.

Memberships renew automatically until canceled.

Your membership billing date may be different from the date your monthly letter credits are added.

One letter credit covers the review, processing, and forwarding of one approved outgoing letter from your child.

A credit is used only after the approved letter is forwarded. Receiving an incoming reply does not use a credit.

Unused membership credits expire at the end of the billing period in which they were issued. They cannot be transferred, refunded, or redeemed for cash, except where otherwise stated in our waiting or refund policies.

Yes, but only with a family plan.

Siblings in the same household may share the letter credits included with that plan. Individual memberships are intended for one participating child and cannot be shared.

Each participating child must have their own Child Letter Preference Form, and each outgoing letter uses one letter credit.

Membership letter credits expire on the last day of your current billing period. Any unused credits expire at that time and do not roll over to the next billing period.

If you cancel your membership, you may continue using any remaining letter credits until the end of your current billing period. After that, any unused membership credits will expire.

Yes. One-time letter credits are valid for 5 years from the purchase date. Your child’s letter must be mailed to Kindness By Mail within that time. Once we receive the letter, the credit will not expire while the letter is being reviewed or waiting for an appropriate match.

Yes. You may request to switch to a different membership plan.

Plan changes generally take effect at the beginning of the next billing period. Until the change takes effect, the current plan, letter credits, and renewal date remain the same.

Please contact us if you need help changing your plan.

Yes. You may cancel your membership at any time through your customer account or by contacting us. Step-by-step instructions are available on the Cancel Your Membership page in the website footer.

After you cancel, your membership will remain active through the end of your current billing period. You may use any remaining letter credits during that time. Your membership will not renew, you will not be charged again, and any unused membership credits will expire when the billing period ends.

Once the membership ends, your child will no longer be available for new letters or new matches. Replies already in transit may still be reviewed and forwarded for up to 60 days after the membership ends. Receiving one of those replies does not require a letter credit or an active membership. After the 60-day mail-in-transit period ends, the connection will be closed.

Because Kindness By Mail includes review, processing, coordination, and forwarding services, purchases and membership fees are generally nonrefundable.

Exceptions may apply when:

• A customer was charged in error
• An approved letter has waited 30 days without an appropriate match and the family chooses not to continue waiting
• Kindness By Mail cannot provide the purchased service

If there is a problem with your purchase, please contact us. We will review the situation and let you know whether a refund or another solution is available.