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Ben Greco didn鈥檛 realize how impactful puffy stickers could be.

In a letter addressed to second-grader Ben Guedes, the聽finance听补苍诲听marketing聽major from Franklin, Massachusetts, adhered multiple puffy stickers to the paper. The letter Greco received in return from Guedes, who attends the S. Christa McAuliffe Elementary School in Lowell, warmed his heart.

鈥淗e loved the puffy stickers,鈥� says Greco, who learned that Guedes is blind. 鈥淗is aide had to translate my letter for him, and the stickers were the only thing he could feel. I now try to get as many puffy stickers on my letters as possible.鈥�

Greco is one of 110 student-athletes at UMass Lowell who participate in a pen pal program with public schools in Lowell. The program is in its third year and is overseen by Athletic Academic Coordinator聽Sima Suon听鈥�17.

鈥淏eing able to utilize our student-athletes and their platform for a positive reason is huge,鈥� says Suon, a former javelin thrower on the UMass Lowell women鈥檚 track and field team. 鈥淚鈥檓 a firm believer in making sure that the student-athletes serve the community that they鈥檙e reaping benefits from. These young kids are their fans at games and are aspiring to be them one day.鈥�

Throughout the academic year, each student-athlete corresponds with an assigned child via handwritten letters. The student-athletes form a bond with the schoolchildren by asking questions such as 鈥淲hat is your favorite sport?鈥� and 鈥淲hat superpower would you like to have?鈥�

鈥淚t brings out the inner kid in me,鈥� says Greco, a men鈥檚 lacrosse player.

The program has become so popular among student-athletes that within two days of seeking pen pal volunteers, Suon had to create a waitlist. Vivian Mac, an聽exercise science聽junior and a distance runner on the women鈥檚 cross-country and track and field teams, was excited to get a pen pal buddy for the third year in a row.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a cool program that athletics runs, because it allows us to connect with kids and be a role model for them,鈥� says the Randolph, Massachusetts, native.

McAuliffe School second-grade teacher Tara Bedard 鈥�02 has participated in the pen pal program since its inception and sees how beneficial the program is for her students.

鈥淚t is so important for students to be a part of something bigger than the walls of their elementary school,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he program lets them be a part of such an amazing college community right in their city.鈥�

For Barbara Smith, a third-grade teacher at Charlotte M. Murkland Elementary School in Lowell, the program shows her students that college is an achievable goal.

鈥淥ne of the biggest takeaways that the kids get is that there are people just like them at UMass Lowell,鈥� says Smith, who is also a throwing coach for the university鈥檚 track and field team. 鈥淜nowing that this university is available to them is huge for our kids.鈥�

In Bedard鈥檚 classroom, the excitement is palpable when the letters arrive. When it鈥檚 their turn to compose a note to their pen pals, the second graders pepper them with questions about their favorite movies and whether they have pets.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 so fun to read their letters,鈥� says Joshua Idusuyi, a student in Bedard鈥檚 class.

鈥淲e get to talk to each other, and it鈥檚 like we know each other,鈥� adds Astrid Sargent, who is a classmate of Idusyi and Guedes.

On April 22, the schoolchildren will visit UMass Lowell to meet their pen pals in person. Guedes already met his buddy Greco when the UMass Lowell lacrosse team visited the McAuliffe School to read to students. Guedes showed Greco the brailler he uses to write his letters and gifted Greco a book written in braille for him to practice reading.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be friends forever,鈥� Guedes says. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to be his pen pal for the rest of his life.鈥�