“We’ve just experienced another year plagued by tragedy, discrimination, and hate…but the power of gratitude and kindness can help combat our cultural turbulence.”
– Carew Papritz
Event Overview.
The creation of The World’s Largest Thank You Letter took place last year at Continental Elementary-Middle School-Green Valley, Arizona in honor of “National Thank You Letter Day.” This year to further engage kids, Carew and the students will be creating the World’s Largest Envelope to travel across the country!
Social activist and award-winning author, Carew Papritz, created the letter and the day to teach children—and remind adults—about the timeless importance of saying thank you through handwritten letters. Not only does he want to inspire in children that “Thank You” letters are still important in our culture, but he is urging teachers and parents to pay gratitude forward in their daily lives.
Gratitude is a powerful tool for increasing well-being in all sorts of settings. Gratitude costs absolutely nothing to practice and anyone can easily be grateful for their lives. There are all sorts of ways to practice gratitude, and it can be practiced in any setting of daily life, from home to school to work and so on.
“We’ve just experienced another year plagued by tragedy, discrimination, and hate…but the power of gratitude and kindness can help combat our cultural turbulence…”
The letter is one large sheet of paper comprised of rolls of butcher paper taped together. The handwritten letters were painted in black paint. The thank you letter is addressed to the student’s mom, dad, and teachers and thanks to them for everything that they do for the students. The letter is formatted like an actual letter with the date in the upper right-hand corner and begins with the salutation, “Dear Mom & Dad, and My Teachers.” The actual letter was written by students from the Continental Cursive Club. The day before the assembly, all 600+ children, teachers, and staff signed the letter below the “Sincerely,” at the bottom of the letter.
Carew likes to create “teachable moments” that will inspire kids for a lifetime. With this event, he created an opportunity for community togetherness that taught kids about the importance of kindness, manners, and civility in their daily lives. His previous efforts have included student handwritten letters attached to books gathered from schools in three states and then delivered by Carew to children at a school in Havana Cuba to celebrate the new relationship with Cuba and the United States. To help fellow students during Hurricane Harvey, students (with the guidance of Papritz) collected donations of clothes and other needed items and, attaching handwritten letters to the items, sent them to an elementary school in Houston that had been flooded.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR & SPEAKER
Carew Papritz
Carew Papritz, also known as The Cowboy Philosopher, is the author of the multi-award winning book The Legacy Letters. Though fictional, The Legacy Letters has won acclaim as a life lessons book for all generations, gaining the distinction of being the only book in publishing history to win awards in both fiction and non-fiction categories. A Renaissance Man in an age that lauds the specialist, The Huffington Post says Papritz “intrigues and enlightens, charms and catalyzes change for every reader.
As part of his many innovative and adventurous first-ever book signings, Carew truly lives his book’s central message to “live life to the fullest” while signing books on top of volcanoes and horses. These events and other YouTube videos, such as the “I Love to Read” series and his annual literacy-driven charity event, “The Great Book Balloon Launch,” inspire kids and adults to rediscover the joy of reading! Proceeds of the summer’s sales of The Legacy Letters went to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Proceeds from his recent “First-Ever Book Signing while Stomping Grapes” went to the Seattle Children’s Hospital. Other charities include Reading is Fundamental and the Military Mama’s Network. Find his videos here.