Today we’d like to introduce you to Grace Berbig.
Hi Grace, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Many people ask me why I started Letters of Love, and the answer, in short, is my beautiful mother. She is, and forever will be, to thank for every accomplishment Letters of Love has made and will continue making. When I was about eight years old, my mom was diagnosed with stage three leukemia, cancer located in the blood. Of course, at such a young age, I had no idea what cancer was or why my mom was suddenly living in the hospital. I did know, however, that I would make sure she knew that even though my family and I couldn’t be there with her, we were supporting her and loving her always. Almost every day, my two little sisters and I would make piles of cards to plaster on my mom’s bland hospital walls, filling them with joy, love, and support. We were always thinking of her, supporting her, and loving her every second of her journey.
When I was ten, my beautiful, strong, brave mother lost her battle with cancer. We would sit on her hospital bed with her and go through each one, and it brought her immense joy and happiness to look through them. She always loved those drawings and cards more than anything, and my sisters and I loved making them. After she passed away, I vowed to devote my life to helping people fighting battles similar to my mom. I was inspired to create good out of the most devastating event of my life and help people who are going through something similar to what my mom did, and it has become my dream and passion for giving back and changing the world with kindness.
Throughout high school, I tried to get involved in every way possible to help hospital patients. Still, I noticed that every opportunity presented to students had some fundraising or donation minimum, and it mainly revolved around the financial aspect of being in the hospital. I kept realizing that there was an extreme lack of awareness of the emotional support aspect that is just as important, if not more, for someone in the hospital. In my junior year of high school, in October of 2018. I remembered the cards my little sisters and I made for our mom and decided to start a club at Orono where students would make cards of kindness to patients at the Children’s Hospital of Minnesota. I decided I wanted to create an opportunity for my peers to make a real difference, one that truly everyone could be a part of, no matter their financial background, age, or any other demographic. And thus, Letters of Love was born.
By my senior year, we had quickly become the largest club at my school and had other high schools reaching out to start their Letters of Love clubs. I realized that this could become so much bigger than Orono. I decided I wanted to make Letters of Love a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, to provide emotional support to every child battling cancer or another serious or chronic illness. We started to start LOL at other high schools and hosted our first teen gala, the largest in Minnesota history.
There are now over 3,000 Letters of Love members worldwide and over 50 clubs in high schools and colleges not only in the U.S. but in Greece, Austria, Hong Kong, India, East Africa, Thailand, Italy, the U.K., Nigeria, and more. We are expanding rapidly and have donated over 100,000 cards to our little heroes fighting a battle that no child ever should.
My mission with Letters of Love goes beyond providing emotional support to these incredible kids. We want to teach our members that they are never too young to make a difference in our world and don’t need money to do so- that we can truly change the world with kindness. In addition, we strive to spread the message that small acts of kindness, like cards, can go so far in the lives of the people we love, and even strangers. Letters of Love is a beautiful thing because we have a mission that every single person, regardless of age, ethnicity, geographical location, or financial background, can be a part of. We keep our clubs free of charge for our members, and it is so beautiful because we are impacting the people receiving the cards and the people making them. We truly are creating a kinder world, one card at a time.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When I started Letters of Love, I never imagined the impact we would have, nor the size we would grow. I never even thought about it being bigger than Orono High School. Expanding at the rate we have been over the past four years has been an incredible journey. The largest struggle has been just learning as I go. When I graduated high school in 2020, I decided I would not go to college and wanted to devote my life to Letters of Love. Since graduating, I have been learning how to run a nonprofit as I go. Because I decided not to go to college, I have taken every job and opportunity that has been presented to me to learn from real people and the real business world how to be a good leader and run my nonprofit to the best of my ability. The largest struggle was running the organization by myself. Until just a few months ago, I was the President, head of marketing, hospital and club communications, finances, partnerships, design, outreach, and event planning. As of a few months ago, though, I have finally put together a board and an executive volunteer board that has been extremely helpful and incredible to work with- as well as my Vice President Darby Sween.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Letters of Love is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides emotional support for patients in children’s hospitals worldwide. We provide an easy and free opportunity for students and whole communities to make a real difference in the lives of children who are fighting a battle that no child should ever have to. Our main goal is to provide a Letter of Love to every child battling cancer or another serious illness. I am proud to say that we have donated over 100,000 cards to patients worldwide, which is increasing every day. I am also extremely proud of Letters of Love because we are youth-run and operated. Everyone on our board, and executive volunteer board, is either a high school or college student, which is extremely rare in the nonprofit world. We are also unique because we promise our members that Letters of Love will always be completely free for everyone to participate. We believe people can make a difference beyond money with the kindness in their hearts.
I would love it if the readers of Voyage knew they could make our cards with their friends, family, kids, or on their own at any time. We always accept cards and will send them to any children’s hospital around the world of your choosing – you can send cards to Letters of Love, PO Box 354, Long Lake, MN 55356. We are always so happy to welcome new high schools and colleges to our Letters of Love family, so if any students or teachers are interested in starting a LOL club, they can find that information on our website www.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?Personally, the book that has helped me the most in my personal life is called “The Road Less Travelled” by Scott Peck. Peck was a psychotherapist for most of his life, and the book has taught me so much about how the human brain works and has built up my emotional and spiritual intelligence.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lettersofloveglobal.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lettersofloveglobal/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lettersofloveglobal/
