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A safe, stable home can change lives for the better. Here’s how Habitat for Humanity wants to make that possible for everyone.
Better health, better jobs, and a brighter future all start with access to a safe, affordable home.
A single door can open up a world of endless possibilities. For homeowners, the front door of their house is a gateway to financial stability, job security, and better health. Yet for many, that door remains closed. Due to the rising costs of housing, 1 in 3 people around the world wake up without the security of safe, affordable housing.
Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has made it their mission to unlock and open the door to opportunity for families everywhere, and their efforts have paid off in a big way. Through their work over the past 50 years, more than 65 million people have gained access to new or improved housing, and the movement continues to gain momentum. Since 2011 alone, Habitat for Humanity has expanded access to affordable housing by a hundredfold.
A world where everyone has access to a decent home is becoming a reality, but there’s still much to do. As they celebrate 50 years of building, Habitat for Humanity is inviting people of all backgrounds and talents to be part of what comes next through Let’s Open the Door, a global campaign that builds on this momentum and encourages people everywhere to help expand access to safe, affordable housing for those who need it most. Here’s how the foundation to a better world starts with housing, and how everyone can pitch in to make it happen.
Volunteers raise a wall for the framework of a new home during the first day of building at Habitat for Humanity’s 2025 Carter Work Project. Globally, almost 3 billion people, including 1 in 6 U.S. families, struggle with high costs and other challenges related to housing. A crisis in itself, this also creates larger problems that affect families and communities in unexpected ways. People who lack affordable, stable housing are also more likely to experience financial hardship in other areas of their lives, since a larger share of their income often goes toward rent, utilities, and frequent moves. They are also more likely to experience health problems due to chronic stress or environmental factors, such as mold. Housing insecurity also goes hand-in-hand with unstable employment, since people may need to move further from their jobs or switch jobs altogether to offset the cost of housing.
Affordable homeownership creates a stable foundation for families to thrive, reducing stress and increasing the likelihood for good health and stable employment. Habitat for Humanity builds and repairs homes with individual families, but it also strengthens entire communities as well. The MicroBuild® Initiative, for example, strengthens communities by increasing access to loans for low-income families seeking to build or repair their homes. Habitat ReStore locations provide affordable appliances and building materials to local communities, in addition to creating job and volunteer opportunities that support neighborhood growth.
Marsha and her son pose for a photo while building their future home with Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity in Georgia. Everyone can play a part in the fight for housing equity and the pursuit of a better world. Over the past 50 years, Habitat for Humanity has become a leader in global housing thanks to an engaged network of volunteers—but you don’t need to be skilled with a hammer to make a meaningful impact. Building an equitable future means calling on a wide range of people and talents.
Here’s how you can get involved in the global housing movement:- Speaking up on social media about the growing housing crisis
- Volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity build in your local community
- Travel and build with Habitat in the U.S. or in one of 60+ countries where we work around the globe
- Join the Let’s Open the Door movement and, when you donate, you can create your own personalized door
- Shop or donate at your local Habitat ReStore
Every action, big and small, drives a global movement toward a better future. A safe home unlocks opportunity for families and communities alike, but it’s volunteers and other supporters, working together with a shared vision, who can open the door for everyone.
Visit habitat.org/open-door to learn more and get involved today.
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Wisconsin teen delivers on lifelong promise to take his grandma to prom
“It’s so special.”
When Avant Williams was just a toddler, he made a promise to his grandma, Svala Heller. While sweet, promises from kids around age two aren’t expected to be kept. But now in his junior year of high school, Williams kept his 14-year-old promise and took his grandmother to his prom.
“Since I was like a little kid, my grandma’s been telling me she wanted to go to prom. It’s her dream, and then today I just feel like I should make that come true,” Williams said to KBTX News through WXWO.
Grandma’s first prom experience
“She didn’t have a prom, so then my junior year of prom she told me I have to take her, so that’s why we’re here,” Williams said with a big smile.
Heller grew up in Iceland where high school proms aren’t common. However, she was intrigued and loved the idea from years of watching American television. Many shows she watched featured the extravagance of the high school dance.
“I’ve always wanted to go to a prom,” said Heller. “Watching American TV and all that glamour that goes with it, and you know, for 14 years he’s been saying, ‘Yeah, one day I will take you to prom.’”
Williams enjoyed having his grandma as his prom date alongside his best friend, Ruben Smith. After having dinner together, all suited and dressed to the nines, they went to the La Crosse Central High School prom in Wisconsin.
“I was definitely excited,” said Williams. “I mean, I’ve only been looking up to this moment since I was like two years old. So, like it’s a big deal for my grandma, and it’s like I feel very special that I can take her to this prom.”
Grandson and grandmother’s big dance
Heller got to have everything about prom she dreamed about. Posing for pictures with Williams and his friends, dancing, and everything else the American teens she saw on television experienced. Only for Heller, it was even better enjoying it with her loving grandson.
“It’s so special,” said Heller. “We have such a special bond. I’m just taking every, every inch in and just enjoying every moment.”
Being her grandson’s prom date won’t just be a wonderful memory for Heller, but a lasting one for Williams.
“It means the world to me. Like, I love my grandma. She’s been there for me like my whole life. I’m just happy I can make her dream come true,” he said.
Other grandson/grandmother prom pairings
Over the years, there have been other grandsons who have taken their grandmothers to the big high school dance. In 2014, Ohio teen Austin Dennison took his 89-year-old great-grandmother “Granny DD” to his prom because she couldn’t afford to go when she was a high schooler. South Carolina student Connor Campbell took his 93-year-old grandmother to his prom in 2017. In 2022, North Dakota student Dakota Wollen took his great-grandmother to what was both his and her first prom.
Traditionally, prom is a ritual to celebrate that current generation before they get into adulthood. It can create lasting fond memories as that teen grows into adulthood. However, based on Williams, Heller, and other grandson-grandmother prom pairings, it can also create wonderful family memories, too.
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No one was manning the Delta desk at the airport. So a playful passenger grabbed the intercom.
“So those mics DO work, they just choose to mumble”
Flying is frustrating, especially lately. Flight delays are surging, costs are going through the roof, and airlines are squeezing customers to maximize their profits. It can be pretty infuriating.
When you’re flying and run into obstacles, you have three choices: become irate and make a scene (not recommended), grin and bear it, or, if you’re really bold, have a little fun with the situation.
Annoyed passenger makes sarcastic announcement
One traveler passing through Los Angeles International Airport recently took matters into his own hands when he needed assistance from a Delta Air Lines employee but couldn’t find one. The Delta desk at his gate was completely empty and unmanned, and he needed help with an issue related to his flight.
And that’s when he noticed the intercom.
Video footage from a fellow airport traveler captures the man approaching the desk, picking up the intercom, and saying, “Hi Delta associates that aren’t paying attention, please come to 30B. You have a customer waiting. Thank you.”
When no one comes, he grows more annoyed and even more sarcastic, activating his best pilot/flight attendant voice: “Delta, Delta, Delta. Please come to 30B. You have a customer waiting.”
Suddenly, in the middle of his next announcement, he’s interrupted by an automated message regarding baggage information. He responds in kind: “OK, that’s fine if you want to do the baggage thing, but what about customer service? Customer service is needed at 30B. Please come and help the customer at 30B. Uh, anybody on shift? Delta, Delta, please help! 30B, thank you!”
Intercom man is hailed as a hero
A few of the weary passengers visible in the video get a good chuckle out of the performance, but it took social media to really give the man the props he deserves.
“Who is he? Upgrade him,” a commenter suggested.
“Rumor has it he’s still at 30B waiting to be helped,” joked another.
Others were just amazed that airline workers never seem to make announcements as clearly and loudly as this random passenger did:
“This is the clearest I’ve ever heard that mic.” (Over 81,000 people agreed with this comment, which says a lot.)
“So those mics DO work, they just choose to mumble”
Many viewers were quick to identify with the broader frustration:
“TSA not getting paid, Spirit died, now delta is self serve? what is happening?”
One commenter summed it up beautifully: “We are all this exhausted with 2026”
In part two of the video, a pilot approaches the man. The two have a brief discussion—slightly tense, but amicable—and then the pilot leaves. “So the pilot just walked away from me,” the intercom man announces.
Playful moment represents serious frustration
The flying experience, in general, has had a rough couple of years.
For starters, passengers are worried about the safety of the planes they’re flying on. Issues with Boeing planes have been publicly documented and have definitely put flyers on edge.
Flight delays have become almost unavoidable. Equipment issues, boarding problems, and air traffic congestion have made sitting on the tarmac for hours an all-too-common nightmare.
And for the passengers’ part, their etiquette has been far from pristine. Reports of unruly passengers and in-flight confrontations involving flyers and crew have been all over the news in recent years.
An empty desk with no assistance for a flyer who needs customer service perfectly encapsulates what it’s like to fly in 2026. But the beauty of this story is the man’s playful, sarcastic, and yes, pointed outlet for his anger. He probably broke some airport policy, but no one got hurt or arrested, and the virality of the moment made his point perfectly.
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Little girl helps struggling musician neighbor go viral with wholesome paper-plane song request
This is how neighboring should be.
Most neighbor stories begin with a simple wave across the driveway or a quick introduction by the mailbox. In Lakewood, Ohio, however, one friendship started with a paper airplane carrying a Taylor Swift song request.
As reported by WKYC-TV, eight-year-old Madeline Glynn heard guitar music floating in from the yard next door and immediately wanted to hear one particular song. There was just one problem: She didn’t know the neighbor yet.
Instead of barging into the backyard, Madeline came up with her own solution.
With help from her mom, Natalie Hulec, she folded a paper airplane, wrote a note requesting “Love Story” by Taylor Swift (great choice), and sent it soaring over the fence separating the two homes.
Waiting on the other side was 26-year-old musician Ethan Hayes.
A neighbor willing to say yes
Hayes had recently moved into the neighborhood last fall and spends much of his time playing music. He performs covers at bars and wineries while also writing songs of his own. Guitar became part of his life during the COVID-19 lockdown, and singing followed a few years later.
That day, he just so happened to be sitting outside practicing when the airplane landed in his yard.
Madeline’s stepdad, Russ Hulec, explained the situation through the window.
“Hey man, my daughter threw a paper plane over. She has a request,” Russ can be heard saying in the clip.
“Am I going to say no? Absolutely not,” Hayes recalled. So without skipping a beat, he pulled up the lyrics to “Love Story” and started playing. From the other side of the fence, Madeline enthusiastically sang along word for word.
One family video became something much bigger
Natalie recorded the exchange because, understandably, it felt like one of those parenting moments she’d cherish forever. Thinking friends and relatives might enjoy the clip as well, she uploaded it to TikTok.
Instead, millions of people watched.
Madeline woke up to news that the video had exploded online. She eagerly called relatives to share the excitement, repeating the same thrilled phrase again and again: “I’m famous! I’m famous!”
Meanwhile, Hayes had no idea any of it was happening until people started sending him the video.
“I didn’t know she was recording. I didn’t hear them singing along. I was just playing the song,” he told WKYC-TV.
The gift that keeps on giving
The sweet neighborly exchange garnered thousands of positive comments from viewers, many of whom encouraged others to check out Hayes’ music on Spotify.
For Hayes, the response means much more than bringing attention to his work.
“What are we if we don’t have each other?” he asked. “Community is one of the most important things. As things get hard, it’s always nice to have somebody to lean on.”
Once strangers, the two households are now planning future cookouts and summer hangouts. And yes, more paper-plane song requests are very welcome.
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Gen Xer asks if people can ‘hear a still photo’ and the responses are undoubtedly so very Gen X
“Hear it? I can still feel, smell and taste it.”
There are specific flashbacks to objects that can become so embedded in our memories that all five of our senses get triggered. At times, these memories are generation-dependent. For a Baby Boomer, perhaps a rotary phone might bring up sounds and smells they thought were forever repressed. For a Millennial, maybe just seeing the yellow AOL Instant Messenger icon automatically sparks the memory of the dial-up Internet sound.
Gen Xers, well, we’ve got our own stuff. Brewer 1056 took to the Gen X subreddit to post a simple photo of one red rubber ball. The OP writes, “Those who weren’t there will say an entire generation can’t possibly hear a still photo.” They add, “I would bet a good number of us can even smell this.”
Gen X red ball. Photo credit: Brewer 1056/Reddit The gauntlet had been dropped, and Gen Xers were there to pick it up. With nearly 15,000 likes in just over two weeks, the post also drew more than 2,000 commenters eager to join the nostalgic chat. The quips range from informative to hilarious, and some are just quintessential Generation X. “Hear it? I can still feel, smell and taste it,” one person wrote.
Some tried to describe the sound: “Pawng!” “Toong!” “Pang!” “Ptooong!” But many seemed to agree that no matter what it sounded like, what they most recalled was the echo: “It’s the sound that still haunts my dreams. They say a ‘ping’ can’t echo. They have never had the misfortune of taking one of these to the face. ‘Pings’ do, in fact, echo.”
Kickball
The ball represents so much to so many of us. Foursquare, kickball, dodgeball. People quickly tapped into their childhoods, summoning up that particular bell that rang for recess. For some, it was kickball, though Gen X didn’t invent the game. (A site dedicated to the sport shares that it began, more or less, in 1917 with Nicholas C. Seuss, who called it “kick baseball.” Seuss was “a park supervisor…with an aim of teaching kids the basics of baseball.”)
Foursquare
For others, foursquare came to mind. In his article “The History of Four Square,” Martin Banks shared how the game most likely began:
“Historians believe the game evolved from a variation of French lawn tennis, which divided the court into four sections, handball, and a game called ‘Paume.’ Eventually, this morphed into a pastime called ‘boxball’ that thrived in city centers due to the limited space requirements. Eventually, boxball evolved into the four square playground leaders know and love today. The game appears in children’s literature from the early 1900s — it has stood the test of time.”
A Redditor adds some context, writing, “I can hear it hit the blacktop. Anyone else play foursquare with it?”
A person responding yes to this question adds a curious point: “They (the red balls) would just show up on the playground at recess. Where did they come from?”
The mystery is solved by another Redditor: “My recess involved a bull rush as the teachers brought out the collapsible wire basket, which held all sorts of balls for the playground. You had to bring the ball back at the end to go back inside, which really s—ed if Timmy kicked the ball into the marsh/tall grass area.”
Dodgeball
And of course, few who grew up in that time period could forget dodgeball. On the Major League Dodgeball site, it’s explained that the sport had a pretty rough start:
“Over 200 years ago, a deadly game played in Africa took birth, where large rocks or solidified matter was thrown to injure or incapacitate the opponents and defeat the tribe. Once the player was hit, further rocks would be thrown to finish it off, whilst the victim’s team members would attempt to protect their player, and additionally hit the opponent.”
A doctor on a missionary trip observed the “game” and brought it back to England: “It was in 1884 when Philip Ferguson witnessed the game in action and took dodgeball to America, where the rules were put in place, and dodgeball became to be the sport that we know today.”
Redditors on the thread certainly remembered:
“I could smell it just as it was about to hit me squarely in the face, despite the below-the-waist rule. (‘It slipped!’)”
“Hahah, this is so specific. THE SMELL hits my sinuses with 100% precision, 30 years later.”
“Hear it, smell it, feel the cool rubber sting on my face when Jonathan from 8th grade decides he wants to be funny and wail it on a girl…good times.”
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Airline pilot reveals the crucial reason why there’s a tiny hole in every airplane window
You’ll see them on every plane no matter where you sit or which airline you’re flying.
Have you ever been crammed into the window seat in a plane and, while gazing down at the terra firma beneath you, noticed that there was a tiny hole in the window? According to Petter Hörnfeldt, aka Mentour Pilot, a Swedish commercial airline captain, those holes could one day save your life.
In a TikTok video, Hörnfeldt explains that there are three layers to the windows on a commercial airliner. The outside window is the strongest because it was designed “to handle any impacts as well as the pressure difference between the thin high altitude air outside of the plane and a pressurized air inside,” Hörnfeldt says.
Then there is the middle layer, with a tiny hole, designed to protect the outer layer. The final layer is the one you can touch or press your nose up against to see what you’re flying over.
Why do airplane windows have tiny holes?
“So why the hole then? Well, because there is air between those layers. Differences in pressure and temperature would otherwise start causing forces to build up between the layers, trying to bend them inwards or outwards, which is something that we obviously do not want, since especially the inner two layers are not designed to take those kind of forces. So that little hole is put there to allow air to flow through slowly and relieve that potential pressure difference. Hence the name breather hole,” Hörnfeldt says.
The tiny hole in an airplane window. Credit: Canva “Now, the inner window layer, the one that’s closest to you, doesn’t really need a hole because it’s fitted in a way that allows air to flow around it. But that breather hole also serves a different job, which is to make it more difficult for moisture to become trapped between the layers and start fogging up your window, stopping you from admiring the view outside,” Hörnfeldt continues.
In his most popular video, Hörnfeldt admitted that commercial airline pilots know when you’ve flushed the toilet on a plane.
Do pilots know when you flush the toilet on a plane?
According to Hörnfeldt, pilots don’t know that you’ve flushed a toilet based on an alert, security camera footage, or a sudden power surge. They know that the toilet has been flushed because of a slight change in cabin pressurization. Airplane toilets use a special vacuum flushing mechanism to suck the contents out. The vacuum system is calibrated to the cabin air pressure. “But that flushing actually does show up on our instruments as a sudden cabin climb on our cabin vertical speed indicator,” Hörnfeldt says. “So we can see it. And it kind of makes sense, if you think about it.”
Next time you see the tiny hole in an airplane window as you gaze upon your hometown at 35,000 feet, you know that it’s not a manfcatingring mistake. It’s here to keep you safe in a cabin with a pressurized system that also knows if you used the bathroom. Aren’t airplanes just incredible?
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A woman noticed a window sign that asked her to ‘Shout Max!’ What came next was pure joy.
“Grita Max. Si tienes suerte, aparecerá Ángel.”
Imagine you’re strolling along, taking in a beautiful day, when suddenly, your eyes catch a large window. Propped up in front of it is a cardboard, handwritten sign. Well, that’s something different.
The sign reads in Spanish, “Grita Max. Si tienes suerte, aparecerá Ángel.” This translates to, “Shout Max! If you’re lucky, an angel will appear.” One woman took the challenge, and the results paid off beyond many of our wildest dreams.
On the Pawbuddiz Rescue Instagram, we see it all play out in a short clip. A woman happens upon the sign and begins yelling, “Max? Max! Maaaaaax!” Suddenly, a fluffy Golden Retriever pops up, almost as if he’s in a puppet show. His big brown eyes are sparkling, and some could argue that his gentle pant appears like a smile. Her voice seems to melt. “Maxito! ¿Cómo estás?” Max quite possibly “answers” her question with one simple bark.
Many in the comment section are moved by the cuteness. With over two million views and just short of 300,000 likes, Max is a big, adorable hit.
Fidel
One commenter shares a similar story, writing, “In Bruges, there used to be a Golden Retriever who sat in the window on the canal. He was there for many years and was a big tourist attraction. There were paintings all over the city of him. It was awesome.” Another who knew this dog, reminded the commenter of his name: “Fidel.” Others had also met him. “I remember him,” one exclaimed. “Had the lucky moment of encountering him.”
Fidel the dog. Photo Credit: Dennis G. Jarvis, Wikimedia Commons It turns out Fidel (or Fidele) was incredibly famous in Belgium and around the world. Back in 2024, a travel blogger shared their wonderful experience meeting him. “When we first arrived in Bruges, I had no idea that the ‘Dog of Bruges’ was so famous. As it turns out, not only is he a famous movie and television star (you can see him for about two seconds at the 4:41 mark in In Bruges, and he also appears in a Godiva Chocolate commercial), but he’s also in the photo collection of every single person who has ever visited Bruges.
The dog is a golden Labrador named Fidel and he lives at the Côté Canal Bed and Breakfast. He sleepily hangs out in a canalside gable window and seems to be oblivious to the hordes of fans that pass him daily.”
Maxito
Returning to Max, an Instagrammer joked, “If I scream ‘Max’ at my phone, will he appear?” And yet another wrote a little two-line play: “Lady: ‘Maxito! What are you up to?’ Max: ‘Chillaxin’.”
A dog looks out the window in Amsterdam. Photo Credit: Cecily Knobler Many simply marvel at how adorable it all is. “Both owner and Max are terrific,” writes one. “Such a sweet angel. I wish I had a Max on my street!” gushes another.
And one makes a practical point, sharing, “Max is probably wondering how these strangers know his name.” The response? “Even if he wondered, he’s still happy that he’s being recognized.”
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Man crowdsourcing to purchase shuttered Spirit Airlines exceeds $437 million in days
“Get in losers, we’re going to buy an airline.”
“Get in losers, we’re going to buy an airline,” is the short bio next to the smiling face of Hunter Peterson, an aviation enthusiast making waves trying to disrupt the air travel industry. On Saturday, May 2, at 3 a.m., Spirit Airlines abruptly shuttered, leaving thousands of employees out of work and thousands of travelers holding unusable tickets.
There was no notice or warning. One day, people were booking tickets, and the next, the budget airline went dark. This airline made air travel affordable to a subset of people who otherwise couldn’t afford it.
Spirit airplane
CanvaThe FAA and other airlines scrambled to offer solutions for those booked with the budget airline. While Spirit is offering refunds, the loss of a budget airline giant will be felt. Peterson decided to go further by doing something unheard of in the airline industry– crowdsource to buy an airline.
The idea behind crowdsourcing funds is to make the airline people-owned. This means there would be no corporation backing the airline. No overpaid CEO, and no large shareholder who gets to decide the fate of the company. Peterson calls it Spirit 2.0, and much to his surprise, an astonishingly large number of people were interested.
What started as a zany idea quickly turned into an unexpected movement. Peterson set up a website where interested people could pledge money starting at $45– the average price of a Spirit Airlines ticket. The potential CEO wanted to keep the price point within reach. None of the money has left anyone’s accounts. Their pledge acts as a placeholder for future funds, but the clock is ticking.
It may sound like an elaborate joke or scheme to go viral, but Peterson is doing the work. Not only has he met with the Spirit Flight Attendants’ Union, but he’s also spoken with attorneys. In his videos shared on Instagram, he explains the importance of doing the legal footwork before money leaves people’s accounts.
“I just got off two calls,” Peterson says. “One, with one of the largest law firms in the world that specializes in mergers and acquisitions, aviation distress assets, and debt, and they basically said, this is doable. We can do this. I also got off a call with someone that represents high-net-worth individuals who may be interested in basically giving us some money to just burn to figure out the legalities of this.”
Peterson explains that in less than a week, they’ll be auctioning the operation certificate for Spirit. This means that if this lofty goal is going to be reached, potential small-donor investors need to reach the astronomical $1.75 billion total. Yes, billion.
Before giving the brief update, Peterson’s site letsbuyspiritair.com had already raised over $24 million. The total continues to climb rapidly, with people pledging amounts anywhere from $45 to $850. Since the website popped up, the total pledged has reached $437 million, and it’s restoring hope in people trying to make this proposed people-owned airline a reality.
“ITS ACTUALLY HAPPENING WE CAN DO THIS,” one person screams.
“Is this feeling I have…. hope? It’s been so long since I’ve felt it lol” another says.
This person is already thinking bigger, writing, “If this succeeds the people can band together to buy even more companies that get intentionally bankrupt by private equity and we can start brining back consumer friendly practices or seizing the means of production maybe.”
Someone else shares, “This Spirit Airlines 2.0 project is giving me hope for America. I know there are more important fish to fry when it comes to issues in America. But if we are successful with this, imagine all the other issues we can address (e.g. healthcare, reparations, homelessness, etc.) using this framework. Like truly power to the people.”
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Gen Zers who love something to look forward to delight each other with snail mail clubs
Remember the wonderful anticipation of waiting for something to come in the mail?
Before the digital revolution’s ruthless efficiency, there were things in life that we delighted in waiting for through the mail. There were quarterly fan club letters you got from your favorite band or sci-fi franchise. There were magazine subscriptions or the occasional letter from your pen pal overseas. People also used to have LP subscriptions with Columbia House, in which they would receive new music in the mail every few weeks.
Before the turn of the century, the mail wasn’t always bills, advertisements, and the occasional catalog. Every day, there was a chance that something magical could show up.
Gen Zers are making mailboxes fun again
Gen Zers are bringing back the joy of receiving something in the mail through snail mail clubs, monthly subscriptions that cost around $8 a month for artists who send stickers, illustrations, newsletters, horoscopes, recipes, bookmarks, and whatever else can fit into a standard-sized envelope. The artwork and stories are usually whimsical and tend to appeal to women.
The mailings are a wonderful way for subscribers to feel the joy of receiving something in the mail and a message from a creator they love, instead of disposable content made of pixels and delivered through algorithms. “Physical mail creates a pause,” Jaylan Birdsong, the artist behind the Perch Post mailer, told Dazed. “It asks you to slow down, touch paper, sit with an image, flip through a zine, tape it to a wall, or tuck it into a journal.”
When people receive something tangible, they tend to relish it more than digital artwork. It’s a big reason why people have physical media, like LPs and CDs, because they allow you to really experience the artwork.
Snail mail clubs aren’t just about getting a surprise in your mailbox; they are about creating a tangible connection between creators and their audience. “Social media sort of feels like driving by a billboard—where people might come across me and say, ‘Oh, that’s nice’, and then they keep going—whereas someone subscribing to my mail club feels like we’re sitting down and sharing a meal together; it’s a much deeper, more intimate way of connecting with somebody,” Christine Tyler Hill, founder of The Coud Hill Report snail mail club, told Creative Lives in Progress.
Snail mail clubs are a great way for artists to make extra money
The subscription-based business is also great for creators to make some considerable side money. Kiki Klassen, the creator behind Lucky Duck Mail Club, told CNBC that she is able to bring in around $4,385 a month in subscription revenue, with a profit margin of about 70%. The artistic endeavor has “definitely created a cushiony security I didn’t have before,” Klassen told CNBC’s Make It. “It’s been nice not to think about [expenses] paycheck to paycheck anymore.”
The one drawback is that creators have to get really good at stuffing envelopes. Unless they have help on the side, a popular creator could have to stuff hundreds, if not thousands, of envelopes a month.
Snail mail clubs are a wonderful example: once we think technology has robbed us of certain joys, some reach back in time and bring them back. There’s nothing wrong with email or snail mail; the cool thing is that we can enjoy both these days.
Travel
No one was manning the Delta desk at the airport. So a playful passenger grabbed the intercom.
Wholesome
Little girl helps struggling musician neighbor go viral with wholesome paper-plane song request
Nostalgia
Gen Xer asks if people can ‘hear a still photo’ and the responses are undoubtedly so very Gen X
Innovation
Airline pilot reveals the crucial reason why there’s a tiny hole in every airplane window
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