On my way to watch a soccer game with my friend Steve and several others, I left an envelope on the seat of a Metro car as I exited the train at Stadium Armory. I think it was the Orange Line, but it could have been Blue or Silver. Hopefully this made someone’s day.
“Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back.” –Oscar Wilde
Here’s $10 for you – I don’t expect it back either. Research shows that everyone enjoys opening letters that have cash inside. Enjoy!
Posted in Anonymous
Tagged $10, anonymous letters, cash, embossing, handwriting, handwritten letters, Metro, money, Oscar Wilde, Paper Source, quotes, research, Year of Letters
Earlier this week I mentioned that Street Sense held their 6th annual Excellence in Journalism Awards. Securing sponsorship for these events is essential to their success. The entire evening wouldn’t have been possible without a generous donation made by the law firm WilmerHale – they provided the space and catering for the event. My fellow Street Sense Board Member, and employee of WilmerHale, Liz Canizares informed me that their Partner-in-Charge, Carol Clayton, was the one who gave us permission to use their facility. Thank you Carol!
Dear Carol,
Thank you so much for generously hosting Street Sense’s 2015 Excellence in Journalism Awards in your beautiful Pennsylvania Ave. office building on June 2nd. As a member of the Board of Directors, I know how much it means for us to have access to such premium space for this event. Patrick McCahan, Jaclyn Culler and Mike (audio/video) were outstanding – I hope that you will share our sincere appreciation with each of them as well as the others who helped make the evening such a success.
With sincere gratitude,
Reed Sandridge
Posted in Thank-yous, Uncategorized
Tagged awards, donations, gratitude, handwritten letters, Journalism, Paper Source, philanthropy, Street Sense, thank-yous, Year of Letters
I love when businesses help their community. Today’s recipient works for DC Brau, a brewery here in Washington, DC that was tapped in 2009. If I’m not mistaken, it was the first brewery inside the District since the 50s.
Robert Samuels & DeNeen L. Brown of the Washington Post posing with Street Sense leadership and volunteers. Photo: Reed Sandridge
I stopped by DC Brau yesterday to pick up some refreshing locally brewed libations for the Street Sense Excellence in Journalism Awards that were held last night at Wilmer Hale’s beautiful offices on Pennsylvania Avenue. Mari greeted me at the brewery and was very kind to provide Street Sense with this generous donation.
The awards are a great way to recognize some of the most profound stories from the last year on the issue of homelessness. Some of them inspiring, others bone-chilling. It’s an issue that doesn’t receive a lot of support because people often believe that the problem is that those experiencing homelessness are lazy and just need to get a job. Of course there are folks like that, but the data shows that the problem is much more complex than that. Street Sense wouldn’t be able to provide the services that it does without generous help from our supporters and friends in the community. Thank you again DC Brau!
Mari,
Thank you and everyone at DC Brau so much for the generous donation of delicious beer for the Street Sense Excellence in Journalism Awards on Tuesday. Your sponsorship helped make it a very successful evening. I made sure to test (strictly for quality assurance reasons) all three beers: the El Hefe, the Citizen and the Corruption. They were tasty and consistent with all my previous experiences with them.
Thanks again for supporting local nonprofits in our nation’s capital. You guys rock!
Reed Sandridge
Street Sense Board Member
Posted in Thank-yous
Tagged beer, breweries, DC Brau, donations, events, handwritten letters, nonprofits, Paper Source, philanthropy, snail mail, thank-you, Year of Letters
I met my buddy Ryan Ruta while living in Valladolid, Spain back in 1995. We spent a semester studying Spanish at the Universidad de Valladolid. It was a tremendous experience and I made a couple of friends along the way, Ryan was one of them.
He ended up moving to Bolivia to do some post-graduate work, met his wife Twyla, got married, started a family and joined the Foreign Service. Every couple of years they move to a new country and he often comes back to Washington for periods of time, so we get to catch up then.
He was here back in April and I’ve been meaning to write him ever since.
I used some Washi tape to add an international touch to the header of this piece of stationery.
Dear Ruta Family,
I hope my note finds you well. One thing that I always enjoyed during my time abroad was receiving handwritten letters from friends and family.
I’ve been writing a handwritten note or letter to someone every day this year. Today is Day 149! I’ve written to all kinds of people – family, friends, celebrities, politicians – just yesterday I wrote to former President George W. Bush. Ryan even helped me leave an anonymous note with $10 in it at Starbucks on Day 104 while he was visiting here in DC. I’m sorry there’s no money in this letter for you, I learned long ago that sending cash in the mail is not a wise decision. That reminds me though of a short story, Una Carta a Dios by Gregorio Lopez y Fuentes. Have you read it? You can find it online – it’s really short but worth reading.
I hope to some day visit you guys while you are living abroad. I don’t know if I will make Honduras, although it’s one of the few countries in Latin America that I have not visited. It would be fun to see you and check it off of my list of countries to visit.
I hope that Bianca, Diego and Lexi are all doing well – hopefully making new friends and adapting to life there. I guess the same could be said for both of you too!
When you have time, drop me a note and let me know how you are doing. And definitely let me know when you’ll be in Washington as I always enjoy seeing you and catching up.
Abrazos,
Reed
Photo: People.com
It’s been nearly six and a half years since my neighbors George and Laura Bush moved back to Texas. I haven’t seen or heard from him hardly since then, so I thought I would drop him a note.
I embossed a bicycle on the card – the President enjoys mountain biking.
Dear President Bush,
I am a big fan of old school handwritten letters – hence this one to you. I heard President Clinton was giving you a hard time for not being on Twitter….well, that’s just baloney. You don’t need to be on Twitter – although I did see that your father has an account! It’s cool you’re on Instagram – you should posts some photos of your paintings though, I hear you’re pretty talented with a brush and canvas.
I take you for a man who prefers the handwritten letter over messages limited to 140 characters. I’m on a mission to write a handwritten letter every day for a year – you’re Day 148. Perhaps you’d be kind enough to drop me a handwritten note.
Best regards,
Reed Sandridge
P.S. I live about 8 blocks away from your old house on Pennsylvania Ave.
Posted in Just because
Tagged Crawford, embossing, George W. Bush, handwritten letters, Paper Source, politics, president, ranch, social media, Texas, United States of America, White House, Year of Letters