Letters to Veterans Project Inspires 'Overwhelming' Community Response

Photo by Chelmsford Police Department: from left, Will Hatley, James Spinney and Jennifer Bellissimo

Chelmsford Police Officer Jennifer Bellissimo had received just one letter, a single response to her request for letters to veterans, when she left work on Labor Day.

Little did she know that the flood was coming.

How it began

Bellissimo attended a veterans affairs summit in Lowell recently as part of the Chelmsford Police Department’s efforts to better serve the growing community of active duty military and veterans in town.

“Over the last couple of years we’ve just encountered more and more active duty men and women and veterans,” she explained. “They are a part of the community we just need more education on.”

While at the summit, Bellissimo met up with Will Hatley, a vocational rehabilitation specialist for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Hatley explained that the VA has been working on making some connections in the local community and asked whether Bellissimo had any connection with local schools.

As a matter of fact, Bellissimo is the Chelmsford PD’s liaison to the town’s elementary schools.

Bellissimo said Hatley explained that a group of volunteers would be traveling to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington D.C., this fall to meet with patients there, and the volunteers were hoping to take 5,000 letters from community members to share with those patients.

Hoping to collect at least 200 letters, Bellissimo sent announcements to Chelmsford’s elementary schools, Chief James Spinney issued a press release, and the call for letters went up on Chelmsford PD’s social media channels.

But the letters didn’t pour in.

The flood

Bellissimo said she set her expectations low knowing that the start of a school year is a busy time for everyone. Plus, the time frame was fairly short -- the press release was issued Sept. 2 and the deadline to turn in letters was Sept. 12.

“Honestly, because of the timing with the start of school, I was really only expecting maybe 200 [letters] just because I know it’s a crazy time of year with families and schools,” she explained.

On Labor Day, Sept. 7, she had one.

So with just five days until the deadline, Bellissimo mentally adjusted her goal of 200.

“Maybe 200 is a little high of an expectation,” Bellissimo said she thought that day.

But then the letters started coming in a bit more quickly — and they were coming from some unexpected places.

Students from schools outside of Chelmsford, residents at group homes and visitors to the farmers market who wrote on farmers’ market stationery started sending in letters. Suddenly, on Sept. 11, Bellissimo had a pile of 400 letters.

But there was still one day to go. And that one day turned out to be a big one.

Bellissimo counted the letters on Sunday, Sept. 13. As she counted, she said, her eyes filled with tears.

“It was really overwhelming,” she said. ”We kinda just put it out there and it just took off.”

She counted 1,519 letters, nearly eight times what she originally hoped to bring in. About 1,100 of those letters arrived on deadline day.

“It was completely unexpected,” Bellissimo said.

On Sept. 14, Bellissimo and Spinney hand delivered the letters to Hatley. Soon, those letters will be on their way to D.C. where they will be distributed to patients at Walter Reed.

Bellissimo said that she anticipates another letter writing campaign near the holidays as there is another group planning a visit to Water Reed in December.

“Policing is tough and when you ask for things from the community, you don’t know what you’re going to get,” Bellissimo said. “It made you realize how much good there is out there. It was a fun activity for us to participate in at the police department.”