THE PROJECT to revive the “old-fashioned” practice of impassioned letter writing has been launched this year by the Department of Education (DepEd), which urges students to send a letter of gratitude to anyone anywhere via postal mail for a chance to win P50,000.
The “Salamat Po (Thank You) Letter Writing Project” of the DepEd, undertaken annually with the Philippine Postal Corp. (Philpost), is designed to encourage the youth to adopt an attitude of gratitude, develop their writing skills, foster love, and build stronger relationships while bringing back the lost art of letter writing in the age of the internet.
In a July 22 memorandum, Education Secretary Leonor Briones urged public and private school students in all levels to take part in the project, now on its fourth year.
Briones said the project aims to educate the youth on the value of saying “salamat po” through letter writing, and promote positivism so students would learn to see the good in other people “instead of criticizing each other.”
A thank-you letter sent by a student through the post office between September and October will receive a raffle coupon, which will be given upon payment of the postage fee, which will be an entry for the P50,000 cash prize in the grand draw to be held at the Philpost in April next year. A letter sent to a recipient abroad entitles a student to two raffle tickets.
According to the project mechanics, students can write their thank you letters to anyone they wish in Filipino or English as long as they are in the proper format, handwritten and mailed at any post office.
Apart from the name of the recipient of the letter here or abroad, the envelope should indicate the mailer’s school and teacher.
In case post offices are inaccessible to students, the Philpost can schedule a pickup from a school on the request of the school head.
A semi-grand draw winner from each postal area will be held on March 15 next year, while the grand draw will be held the following month in time for the Philpost’s anniversary.
Students whose raffle entries are picked in the semi-grand draw will each receive P10,000. The same amount will be given to their respective schools and teachers.
Equal prizes for the school and teacher will be given in the April 2017 grand draw, in which the awarding of the P50,000 cash prize will be held at the winner’s school in June next year.