Recipients “Thank Yous”
At the end of each campaign, Recipients have a chance to thank everyone who wrote to them. Here are a few that we’ve been granted permission to share:
“Dear Family and Friends, Thank you so much for your birthday notes. Each one I read (and re-read) reminded me that friendships, family and community are what I really cherish. I had no idea how much I would need to be reminded of that this month!!! Your thoughtful, caring notes lifted my spririts. I’m so grateful to have you in my life.” — Mary, November 2024
“Dear family and friends, I am utterly floored by the heartfelt outpouring of love, encouragement, support, memories, jokes, and good vibes as I enter my 5th decade. Hearing from folks near and far, from across and through time, I was repeatedly touched beyond measure by your notes. Having you all pop back into my life through my inbox this past month has brought me so much joy, and I will return to those notes if I ever need a pick me up. I'm humbled by you all. Sending my love back to you, with a wish to celebrate another 40 years with you in my life!” — Pete, October 2024
“Hey friends and family- I’m pretty speechless at the amount of care and love you all showed me in the messages you so kindly sent my way during my birthday month. I can't begin to describe how overwhelmed I was by each of your notes. I've re-read each one many times and I can say through the smiles [and some tears] they brought on, I am for the first time in my life able to truly accept and embrace all of the love you sent my way and I can't begin to thank you enough. Hats off to my sweet hubby, Jason, who made it happen. Just remember that love is a two way street and I'm here for each of you always. Big hugs” — Corey, August 2024
“Dear Family and Friends — We want to thank you all for your thoughtful and heartfelt anniversary wishes. Beginning in mid-June, and every day thereafter for over a month, we received a note from one of you. Each day we looked forward to a new note, and each day we were touched by the love and warm wishes we received. Thank you all for helping us celebrate this 50 year milestone. Your notes reminded us of how very fortunate we are to have you all in our lives.” — Phil and Debbie, July 2024
“Thank you so much for the birthday note! I am truly touched and feel so grateful to have you in my life. I cannot think of a more special way to usher in this next decade than with your love and support. With love, gratitude, and a few extra gray hairs” — Liv, July 2024
“Dear friends and family, I don’t think there was a better way to celebrate “60” than to hear kind words, memories, anecdotes I haven’t thought about in years, and even a few poems! Thank you - for filling my heart and buoying my spirit though your thoughtful notes. And a special thanks to my family who, I believe, conspired together to start this campaign for me. It was truly the best gift, and I’m so grateful. Sending love to all of you, with gratitude for your friendship and for taking the time to write. I am truly blessed beyond measure. Cheers to the next decade!” — Mary Claire, May 2023
“When I first started getting the e-mails, I felt a bit nervous. I saw the name of the person and thought “oh wow.. what are they going to say?!” It made me a little bit shy, uncertain, and nervous about what was inside. Kind of like before entering a surprise party and wondering “did anyone actually show up?” or sometimes there was a little bit of .. like.. that feeling before opening a gift from a relative that doesn’t know you very well and wondering “will it be something good? Or will I have to pretend to like it?”
On every occasion, once I opened the e-mail and read the note, any insecurities transformed to great happiness, and create a huge smile on my face. Every note was a great gift, and I loved them all. Throughout this campaign, I felt:
appreciation for YOU taking the time to write these notes & reflect
A deeper sense of connection from the vulnerability you had by acknowledging and sharing directly your feelings about me
Happiness from the fond memories that you helped me to remember
Confidence in myself
Love for myself
Love for you
Inspiration
Joy - I smiled and laughed a lot, and cried a couple times too!
In summary.. you taking the time to share with me in this way that you did made me feel really good.. and reminded me how lucky I am to have such loving friends & family. Thank you for being caring, courageous, friendly, generous, kind and loving in your part giving me this great gift.” — Anon, October 2023
“Hey you. It meant a lot to get your appreciation and it was pretty overwhelming and beautiful to hear from different people from many different times and places and eras of my life daily over the last three months. This project has certainly given me the hoped-for half century retrospective arc--one way to gather back and gaze at spooled out time and essence lived as a human who thinks humans are the coolest and most interesting part of being here, and that loving is an essential purpose. I see clearly that I have invested wisely in a generative and varied community of smart, kind, hilarious, creative, dedicated, gracious, and exceptional people as friends and fam. You late fragment-ed the f out of me. Thank you.” — Hilary, September 2023
“Who knew that this would be such a challenging time ? Having the daily notes of love were such a wonderful buoy through these stormy seas. Friendship and love are at the top of my list of important things in my life, and I want you to know how touched I have been with each and every word. Thank you for caring and keep the love going through your own life too.❤️” — Valerie, May 2023
“Thank you so much for taking the time to send me a note. It was such a sweet surprise each day and I know I'll hold onto your heartfelt words. May we all continuously feel each others' appreciation and love, in moments both dark and bright. Let's keep this going-who's next? Gratitude is truly contagious ;) Thanks again for all the love, it means a great deal to me.” — Jocelyn, April 2023
“I can't begin to describe how overwhelmed I was by each of your notes. I've re-read each of your notes many times and I can say through the tears and smiles they brought on, I am for the first time in my life able to truly accept and embrace all of the love you sent my way and I can't begin to thank you enough. Just remember that love is a two way street and I'm here for each of you always. One of my favorite learnings from my journey is what I'd like to leave you with as a final thanks: Vulnerability breeds strength.” — Jed, March 2023
What Campaign Starters say:
Joyce
It’s so easy it is to start a campaign. And I love seeing my Recipients during the day, thinking, ‘They were appreciated and loved today.’ I keep on thinking of people I want to start campaigns for.
Karen
I love how simple and quick the process is. I love how clear and easy the signup is. And then you do the rest of the work for us? Brilliant.
Brad
Using the Appreciation Effect helped our family express positive feedback when we were in a bad habit of asking each other to change an unwanted behavior. It was easy to set up, not complicated to use, and simple enough for even the grandparents to participate in. Thank you!