PENPALS IN EX-USSR
Michele Cervoni (IamMichi@AOL.COM)
Mon, 5 Dec 1994 01:44:02 -0500
U.S. and Canadian Youth Leaders:
We realize that you have internet access, but if you could share the
following information with your group/troop members who don't have access to
the Net it would be greatly appreciated
100,000 TEENS AND YOUNG ADULTS IN EX-USSR SEEK POSTAL PENPALS
The organization SAPE (formerly "The Soviet-American Penfriend Exchange") has
matched up more than 20,000 citizens of the USA and Canada with penpals in
the former Soviet Union since its inception in 1989. Due to the large
word-of-mouth network that exists in the former USSR countries, we now have a
waiting list of more than 100,000 people in the former USSR who would like a
penpal in the USA or Canada.
These penpals range in age from 10 through college-age. Almost 90% can
correspond in English, but some have only studied French or German, and a few
can only write in Russian and their native language. Please note that these
penpals are NOT e-mail penpals and can correspond via postal mail only.
HOW THE PROCESS WORKS: We send the penpal's name, address, age, gender, and
languages known to you (within 1-2 weeks), along with detailed information on
sending letters and parcels to the CIS and Baltic countries. From there, you
and your penpal write directly to each other, and SAPE only steps in to
assist if there is a problem, a question, or no response is received.
WHAT IS REQUIRED: There is a fee of $3.00 per penpal (U.S. residents), or 6
International Reply Coupons (IRCs) per penpal (Canadian residents). [IRC's
may be purchased at any post office in the world.] This fee is used in 3
ways: (1) the cost of supplies and postage to send you the address of your
penpal and mailing info; (2) the cost of supplies and postage to answer
inquiries about the project, answer specific questions from participants, or
to handle any problems that arise with penpals; and finally, (3) the cost of
mailing information about this project to schools, youth groups, and
youth-related media (this is by far our biggest expense). Because the number
of requests from the CIS and Baltics generally outnumbers those from North
America by about 10 to 1, these continued mailings are essential if we are to
find penpals for everyone who writes to us. SAPE has no paid employees, all
persons involved do so on a volunteer basis only.
In addition to the fee, you'll find below a coupon that also needs to be
filled out, so that we may match you with a suitable penpal.
WHO HAS PARTICIPATED IN SAPE? Over the past five years, more than 350
teachers have involved their students in this project. In addition, more
than 500 local chapters of the following organizations have also
participated: Girl Scouts of America, Boy Scouts of America, 4-H, Campfire
Councils, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and Girls Inc. Additionally, U.S. Peace
Corps Volunteers who are serving as English teachers in Latvia, Lithuania,
Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan have incorporated SAPE participation into their
curricula this year. We expect the Peace Corps' participation to expand over
the next year, to include the other CIS countries where PCV's serve. We do
have reference letters written on our behalf by teachers on file, which we
can send to you upon request.
SAPE has also been recognized by: The U.S. Information Agency, The Embassy
of Russia, The Institute for Soviet-American Relations (ISAR), Voice of
America, and National Geographic's WORLD magazine (Nov 1990 issue). SAPE is
not a branch of any other organization and has no political or religious
affiliations.
Thank you very much for your time and I hope you'll excuse the e-mail
intrusion.
Please feel free to email me if you have any questions. My email address is:
IAmMichi@aol.com
Very sincerely,
Michele Cervoni
Director, SAPE
Complete the following and mail with fee to:
SAPE
PO Box 260800
Highlands Ranch, CO 80126
U.S.A.
Full Name: __________________________________
Address: ____________________________________
City: _______________________________________
State/Province: _____________________________
Zip/Postal Code: ____________________________
Age: _______ Sex: ________________________
Languages Known: _____________________________
Choice of Male or Female Penpal (or No Preference):
Male: _____ Female: _____ No Preference: ______
Fee for U.S. Residents: $3.00 per penpal
Fee for Canadian Residents: 6 International Reply Coupons per penpal
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
