In an age dominated by technology, Hymers College has taken a more traditional approach to engaging their alumni: the art of letter writing. This annual letter writing project, now in its third year, reached its highest level of engagement yet in 2023. The project began during the pandemic when Hymers College embarked on this creative way to nurture and maintain connections with their alumni community, introducing the Year 6 pupils to the letter writing initiative, which has since become a new favourite tradition for the Development Office!

Using their ToucanTech site, Hymers College created an event for their alumni to register interest as well as confirm their postal address - which gathered over 120 enthusiastic responses in just 4 hours! Then, 80 Year 6 pupils were then tasked with writing letters to these alumni, which included a free postal envelope for their responses.

The results?

More than 100 handwritten replies came from all over the world, including the United States and Australia from Old Hymerians of ages ranging from 20 to 90. Plus, the exchange of letters between students and alumni proved to be a truly enriching experience; Year 6 pupils were fascinated by the old school photos and report cards dating back to the 1940s sent in their letters, as well as badges, big bags of sweets and even baseball caps! Some pairs have even continued to write to each other with parental consent! 

However, the benefits of this project extended beyond nostalgia. The letter writing project has helped Hymers College reconnect with "lost" alumni as well as identify potential prospects for future fundraising campaigns. By engaging in meaningful conversations through letters, the school has also gained valuable insights into the varied interests and professional accomplishments of their former students. This knowledge has not only helped strengthen the bond between the school and its alumni, but has also presented opportunities for support and collaboration with alumni in various future endeavours.

The heartwarming photos of the Year 6 students proudly reading their letters from Old Hymerians have also been shared on the school’s alumni community platform in a photo gallery. And, as responses flooded in, letters were scanned and uploaded to the ‘Docs’ section of each alumni record for record keeping.

"We have received over 100 replies to our Junior School letter-writing project. The children are excited to learn more about Hymers in a different decade."

Emily Pennack

Development Manager

By leveraging their ToucanTech platform, Hymers has been able to effectively track and manage alumni who have signed up to participate in the letter writing project, ensuring seamless communication and engagement, as well as log new fundraising prospects and share photos of the project on the community platform. ToucanTech's intuitive database makes accessing alumni information effortless, and enables the easy retrieval of past records and the tagging of records as new fundraising prospects, which provides valuable insights and opportunities for future development initiatives. Talk to a member of the ToucanTech team today to find out more.