Dear muskee31,
Your request is quiet unusual. Most people would like *not* to receive
letters or phone calls from strangers.
There are several ways, in which you could inflict yourself with
letters and phone calls. Please note, that this list is aimed at
someone like you, looking forward to receive more letters and phone
calls, and it is illegal to sign someone else to such lists without
their permission.
There are several sure ways to increase the volume of phone calls and
post you receive:
- commercial sources
- pen-pals
- writing to others, who usually reply
- Volunteering in hotline, being activist for a social cause in your
area.
- Advertising it.
Advertising it
==========
The easiest and surest way is to advertise in public that you’re
looking for pen pals, telephone buddies, and phone calls/letters of
every kind. You could use the personals of a newspaper, hang this
advertisement in local libraries, etc. This might cost you (especially
if you publish it in a widely circulated newspaper), but will get you
lots of contacts. This is also the best “bulk” way – one
advertisement, online and off line – could yield much post and phone
calls.
Volunteering/Working
=================
Many elderly people, children and others – are just looking for
someone to talk with.
The best place to search for volunteer opportunity, where others call
you for help is “I want to Volunteer”
http://www.volunteering.org.uk/volunteer/index.html
Other Phone-pal schemes:
Morley Elderly Action http://www.morleyelderlyaction.org.uk/groups.htm
- in Leeds, but it is over the phone.
London Time Bank http://www.londontimebank.org.uk/
Writing to people who will usually reply:
=============================
Government and public officials, embassies, commercial services will
all answer your requests for further informatio. Of course, here there
is no alternative but to write separately.
Swapping, FBs, and other Pen Pal methods
===============================
This is one of the safest and best ways to get more letters – and also
phonecalls, once you know a person. You list yourself in a directory,
and just wait for the letters to pour in.
You could also participate in an FB scheme, and be listed on people’s
“Friendship Books”, which will yield more contacts.
What are Friendship Books (FB)? Anita explains: “When you exchange
snail mails with your pen pals, you may receive a kind of small,
usually handmade booklet, with many names and addresses signed in.
It's a friendship book, FB for short. FB's are traded by many pen
pals, passed from person to person, each adding his/her name and
address (many times by label). Most people add information about
themselves too such as age, interests, hobbies, loves etc. Some write
if they want new pen pals or swappers and some add decorations, for
example stickers. When the book is full, it is mailed to the person it
was made for. FB's are started as a way to thank pal, to look for new
pals, via different FB games or just for fun. It's very interesting
to get back a full FB, because you get to see all the places over the
world, where it has been. There is a great variety of FB's, some are
very simple, others little pieces of art. There are also other kinds
of " FB's": friendship sheets, decos, slams, crams and lyrics. FB 's
require patience, they can take years to fill, so it's better not to
do FB 's too large because of waiting and having hard time fitting
them in envelopes.” (Source: Anita’s Snailmail and Swapper World, <
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Island/1765/>).
Other sites of FB swappers:
AmiFriend http://amifriend.com/fb/
Sarah’s Swappers site http://swappers.hypermart.net/
FB Swappers online http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/9354/fb.html
Kirana’s http://www.angelfire.com/hi3/kiranasfbworld/
Sites for Finding Pen Pals (conventional)
===================
The Jolly Roger http://jollyroger.com/penpals/index.php
Interpals http://www.interpals.net/
Pen Pal Garden http://www.penpalgarden.com/
Andy’s Pen Pals http://www.andys-penpals.com/
Pen Pal World http://www.penpalworld.com/
Pen Pals.net http://www.pen-pals.net/ - requires a fee
IPF http://members.ozemail.com.au/~penpals/
Google Groups: soc.penpals
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&group=soc.penpals
Google Directory: http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/People/Pen_Pals/Snail_Mail/
Commercial Sources
===============
If you enter to online and off-line sweepstakes and contests, if you
fill in a form to get more information, you are due to receive more.
The best, regarding the UK, that I found:
Directory for Free Catologues, Brochures and much more:
http://www.rewardsites.co.uk/Free_Catalogues/
How to receive free magazines: http://www.ewritersplace.com/a074.html
Free Magazines https://host34.ipowerweb.com/~maxmagsc/Offer_CMS/index.php?CID=2204
More Free Stuff from the Google Directory:
http://directory.google.com/Top/Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/Business_and_Economy/Internet/Free_Stuff/?il=1
General Information
===============
Making Contacts (Chapter 6) at “Practical Suggestions”
http://www.practicalsuggestions.org.uk/contents.html
I hope this answered your question. In order to find an answer, I used
various search techniques – more than the normal: I searched for each
of these categories independently, as your request is highly
non-conventional. If you need any clarifications on this answer,
please let me know, as I will be pleased to clarify it before you
tip/rate it. |
