To mark the start of their new letter writing campaign for LGBT History Month, co-founders Lu and Alex pen a missive to DIVA readers
BY HOUSE OF PRIDE
Dear Diary DIVA
Let me ask you something.
When was the last time you wrote a letter?
I don’t mean one of those Business back-and-forths, I’m talking about a personal letter.
When was the last time you picked up a pen to communicate with someone, rather than reaching for your phone or laptop?
I’m asking because I’d like to be your pen pal…well; House of Pride would.
We’ve just launched our #ConnectingTheLetters campaign.
Six well-known LGBT+ friends and allies have written what we’re calling, “love letters to the LGBT+ community”. They’ve written to you, and we want to send you those letters.
Why?
Firstly, we wanted to do something to salute LGBT+ History Month.
Letter writing has an incredibly rich tradition in our community, and so what better way to honour our past than by sharing some of it with you?
Audre Lorde and Pat Parker. Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West. Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas. Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky…
Throughout the month we’ll post some of these historic letters on social media. There’ll also be testimonials from people in our community, letters from our sponsors, and writing prompts so that you can get involved too.
Because that’s the main reason behind us starting this campaign. As a way for us to connect a bit more (and a bit differently) and to remind you that we’re still here.
Lockdown is hard. Really bloody hard. And we miss you.
We’d love to be able to come over, have a cup of tea and give you a hug – but we can’t.
So posting something that a friend has taken the time to write to you, and that you can keep forever? It comes pretty close to giving you that hug.
We can’t open the doors that have to be shut during lockdown, but we can push a bit of love through them…
We’ve called this campaign #ConnectingTheLetters because we want to make a stand (as a Company) that every single letter in the LGBT+ spectrum is equally important, and belongs together.
And the cherry on the cake? The seal on the envelope? A percentage of the profits we make from this campaign will go to our friends at Stonewall Housing.
Now for those reading this and thinking “But letter writing… I wouldn’t know where to start. It’s not something that I do…”
I’m going to disagree with that.
What do you think you’re doing every time you do a text-dump to your best friend? (One of those longer threads where you really offload). You’re typing out a letter. You’re writing to someone.
Journaling. Diary entries. Again, letters. But to ourselves.
What about Santa? Surely some of you must have written to him (…and maybe still do?)
Do you see how I’m not letting you off the hook?
Be it a tweet, an email, a memo, a thank you note, a job application, a Facebook post… you’re writing every day.
So, DIVA readers, now that you know what we’re doing and why (and you know that this is something you can do), it’s back to you.
*Takes a deep breath *
Will you go out with me stay in with me and be my pen pal?
Answers on a postcard to…
Lu x
(This letter comes with lots of love from Lu Corfield and Alex D’Sa – co-founders of House of Pride).
To sign up to the #Connecting the Letters Campaign – click here.
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