FRANKSTON City Council’s Positive Ageing team will partner with Frankston Library to launch The Letterbox Project, an anonymous letter exchange, on 4 August.
The project will run every Tuesday from 10.30am at the library until late October, coinciding with Loneliness Awareness Week (3–9 August), this year themed ‘Make Room for Connection’.
People can register at the library at any point during the project and will be anonymously matched with a pen pal, using a chosen code name instead of their real identity.
Once matched, pairs write letters and drop them at the library, which holds each one until the other person collects it, either at a Tuesday session or any time the library is open.
At the 4 August launch, anyone who registers will be anonymously matched with a pen pal on the spot. After writing an introductory letter, they will leave with a first letter from their pen pal, exchanged through the library rather than in person.
Positive Ageing Officer, Kelleigh Lane, said the idea grew out of a similar project she had seen running in England, and reminded her of the letters she used to receive from her grandmother.
“It took me back to the magic of writing letters. The excitement of going to a letterbox and seeing if there was something for you,” said Lane.
Lane said writing a letter, rather than sending a text full of abbreviations and emojis, encouraged people to slow down and reflect.
“It fits really well in making that space for people to sit down and write letters and form a connection with each other.
“We’re hoping it will offer another alternative to attending an event or becoming part of a group. We will be fetching the letters over the 13 weeks, just to make sure everything is remaining anonymous. There’s no address, no real name – that way it stays safe for people,” Lane told The Times.
A specially built letterbox, made by the Langwarrin Men’s Shed, sits at the library’s reception for people to post and collect letters.
Participants must be aged 18 or older.
“The focus was originally for our seniors, but it’s open to anyone. We’d love to take it out to the other libraries as well, so it’s got further reach,” said Lane.
The final session is expected in late October, when the team will decide whether to continue the project.
First published in the Frankston Times – 28 July 2026
