Take part
How would you like to take part?
There are two ways to take part, and you're welcome to choose both: write a card for someone you've never met, or sign up to get mail yourself.
Here's how it goes
Whether you write a card or sign up for mail, you only take the first step. In three steps, your card travels from the screen to someone's doormat.
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You begin
Write a card for a stranger in a few minutes, or sign up an address that could use a little extra mail. It needn't be much, a few lines or a filled-in address is plenty to get started.
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We turn it into mail
We read your card over ourselves and then copy it out by hand onto a card. If you sign up an address, we send the welcome letter with the account code on its way. Everything is done with care and attention.
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It arrives
A few days later, something personal lands in someone's letterbox, written by someone they don't know. Something to set down on the windowsill and keep around a while.
Why a card stays with you
Most mail is ads and bills. A card in among them is something else entirely: for you, from someone you don't know, with nothing expected of you in return. It isn't rushed and it isn't printed, but written by hand, just for you.
A card like that often gets read twice, and stands on the shelf for a while. A small gesture, but it says something small and something big at the same time: someone was thinking of you for a moment. And that gives an ordinary day a different colour.
Quietly arranged: safe & private
Schrijfmaatje sits between the sender and the recipient, and neither one gets to know the other personally. Nothing complicated, just a few things we've taken care of for you, so you can write or receive mail with an easy mind.
- Addresses are never shared. We only use an address to deliver the card, and we share it with no one. The sender and the recipient never get to know each other's address or name, in either direction.
- Writing may be anonymous. Your name isn't required, you're welcome to leave it off. Only if you'd like a reply yourself do you give your address, and we're the only ones who see it.
- We read every card. Before a card goes in the post, a person at Schrijfmaatje reads it and approves it. If a message doesn't fit, we don't pass it on.
- An address only after consent. We only use a signed-up address once the resident has confirmed it themselves, with the account code we send by post. That way nobody can sign up an address that isn't theirs.
Frequently asked questions
Who gets my card?
Someone from our list of people who'd love mail but rarely get any. We choose the recipient, so you don't know in advance where your card goes. We add the recipient's first name at the top ourselves.
What do I write if I have nothing to report?
It's the ordinary that works best. Tell something small from your day and ask one everyday question: what you ate, what you spotted outside, a song stuck in your head. Clever lines aren't needed, it's about the gesture.
Can I sign up someone else?
Of course, a grandparent or a neighbour who'd love some mail, for instance. Enter their address on the sign-up page. We'll then send a letter with the account code to that address, so the resident can confirm the sign-up themselves.
Does it cost anything?
No, taking part costs you nothing. We run on stamps, not money. Got a few to spare? Then you help the next greeting on its way. Read about the stamps.
On paper works too
Not everything has to go through a computer. Prefer pen and paper? Then just write your card at home and send it to Schrijfmaatje, Vuurdoornstraat 9B, 8924 AT Leeuwarden. We read it over, copy it out where needed and make sure it lands on someone's doormat.
Would you like the other person to be able to write back to you later? Then add your own address too. We're the only ones who see it, the other person never does.
