How to be a Pen Pal

You know how good it feels to get a letter from a friend. It always brings a smile. So, we’ll send your letters to someone who doesn’t get to school all the time and has to go to the hospital a lot. We know your letters will help bring a lot of smiles!

We also send letters to brothers and sisters of special children. So, you may request that your letter be sent to a brother or a sister if you would like.

Dear Parents and Pen Pals:

To be a pen pal you must be 18 or younger.

Parents, here are the steps to help your child become a Tony's Gang Pen Pal:
    Your child may volunteer with your permission, by sending their letter and a permission slip to Tony's Gang.

If your child is interested in participating in this program, please use our permission slip and send it with your child's letter.

1. Write your letter.

2. Include permission slip.

3. Tell us whether you are writing to:

    A child with cancer or other disease, or
    A brother or sister of a child with cancer or other disease

4. Mail your letters directly to:

Tony’s Gang,
4742 Outlook Way,
Marietta, GA 30066

When we receive your child's letter, Tony’s Gang will forward it to our special friends across the country. If you include your name and address, we will include  a stamped envelope addressed to you, so that your pen-pal can get started writing back.

We have sent several letters and some of the pen-pals have already heard back from a new friend. But, many of the children that received our letters did not write back. They have been having a hard time with their illness. We know even though they are not writing back, they really enjoyed receiving the letters. So, please keep on writing and we will continue to forward them to the children.

Think of funny and encouraging things to say in your letters. Tell your pen pal all about the things you like to do, your school, and special activities that you are involved in. Ask them about themselves. Like -- what they like to do at home and school and about their special activities. You don’t need to feel strange about them because they are sick. Inside they are just regular kids, just like you.

Again, make sure you include your name and address in your letter.
Don’t forget to ask them to write back!
If you don’t receive a letter in a couple of months or so,
please drop Tony’s Gang a line.

When you write your second letter:

Tony’s Gang will send you a Tony’s Gang Pen Pal start-up package.
If you let us know that you are writing back and forth with your Pen Pal,
we will send a Tony’s Gang "You’re One of the Gang" baseball cap to you and your Pen Pal!

Thanks again for helping the "Gang"
help kids feel a little more like regular kids!

Someday soon, we will have our website ready for you to write
to your pen-pal on the internet!

Friends do make it better!

Click on How to Help for more information.