© 2026 ABC News

Doug shared Emerson's letter with his supervisor at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), who then shared it in an internal newsletter as a \"token of thanks\" from a happy customer, according to Weber.

Emerson soon began receiving dozens of letters from USPS workers who reached out to her to say thank you for saying thank you and to make a connection. The letters have included jokes, gifts for Emerson and her brother, fun facts about Taylor Swift -- Emerson's favorite singer -- and details about their families and jobs.

She put it in the box, smiled when he took it & that was enough.

The next day a package arrived with some stamps & two letters.

Doug had shared Em’s letter with his supervisor, Sara, and they both wanted to share how touched they were by her note. pic.twitter.com/bdpRxl1QeK

— Hugh Weber (@hughweber) May 4, 2020

\"I've really enjoyed getting to learn about all of their families and jobs throughout the USPS,\" said Emerson. \"And, I really like the jokes that so many of them sent.\"

The USPS told ABC News in a statement, \"To have people notice the hard work that United States Postal employees are doing on a daily basis has been an amazing encouragement. But somehow, the words of an innocent 11-year old child has touched all of us. The power of connection is what we are delivering, as we bring vital medications, correspondence and commerce to Americans staying at home. Because we are hard at work, we are helping keep you safe – and connected.\"

The letters' message on mental health, connection

The letters have resonated as part of a broader message about mental health that Weber pointed out in the Twitter thread about his daughter and Doug, which has quickly gone viral.

\"I'm not sharing this because I'm a proud dad,\" Weber wrote on Twitter. \"I'm sharing it because it is relatively easy, if we take the time, to give others the one thing they need to be well - human connection.\"

\"I have a friend that says we all just want to be seen, known and loved,\" he wrote. \"Em does this boldly.\"

Weber said he hopes people take away from Emerson's story the importance of staying connected and reaching out to other people, especially people who make an impact in your life.

\"Mental health is something that I think ... can have such a stigma tied to it but I think it's just as basic as writing a letter tell someone you're grateful for them,\" he said. \"It's just as basic as reaching out to someone you care about and checking in on them.\"

\"That was my hope with sharing it, that these small singular actions can, even in 2020, have a really positive set of ripples,\" Weber said.

\"PHOTO:
Hugh Weber
PHOTO: Emerson Weber, 11, of South Dakota, has been writing letters to thank USPS workers.
>

Emerson, who hopes to be a future U.S. president, is well on her way to replying to each of the USPS workers who have sent her a letter. She said she hopes people are inspired by the connections she's made.

\"I hope that people just take some time in their day to send a letter to their mail carrier because they really do enjoy it. I learned that from their letters,\" she said. \"And, you can make someone's day with just a tiny act like writing a thank you letter.\"

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Living/11-year-girl-writes-letter-mail-carrier-dozens/story?id=70488512","legacySlug":"/living/story/11-year-girl-writes-letter-mail-carrier-dozens-70488512","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"20:40","publishDate":"05-04-2020","updatedTime":"12:51","updatedDate":"05-06-2020","socialImage":{"alt":"Emerson Weber, 11, of South Dakota, has been writing letters to thank USPS workers.","credit":"Hugh Weber","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/letters-02-as-ht-200504_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"5/4/2020 20:40:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":70488512,"headline":"11-year-old writes thank you note to mail carrier","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_11-YEAR-OLD AND USPS LETTERS_200504","description":"\"Make someone’s day with just a tiny act like writing a thank you letter.\"","duration":"3:00","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/05/200506_wnn_ganss1_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["70436675","70413691","70432246"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"May 4, 2020","headline":"Prom was canceled, but these high school boys made sure the girls still got flowers","section":"living","slug":"/living/story/prom-canceled-high-school-boys-made-girls-flowers-70436675","id":70436675,"image":{"alt":"Prom was canceled, but these high school boys made sure the girls still got flowers","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/collage-ht-er-200430_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Bishop Chatard High School","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"December 31, 2020","headline":"ER nurse decorates patients' rooms with pictures of loved ones ","section":"wellness","slug":"/wellness/story/er-nurse-decorates-patients-rooms-pictures-loved-70413691","id":70413691,"image":{"alt":"ER nurse decorates patients' rooms with pictures of loved ones ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/jeanna-barbieri-01-ht-jef-200429_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Jeanna Barbieri","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"April 30, 2020","headline":"2-year-old officially adopted over Zoom video chat","section":"family","slug":"/family/story/year-officially-adopted-zoom-video-chat-70432246","id":70432246,"image":{"alt":"2-year-old officially adopted over Zoom video chat","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/adopted-zoom-video-chat-ht-MAIN-np-200430_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Kimberly Wieneke","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"11-year-old writes thank you note to mail carrier","description":"\"Make someone’s day with just a tiny act like writing a thank you letter.\"","duration":"3:00","uploadDate":"05-04-2020","publication":"05-04-2020","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/05/200506_wnn_ganss1_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/05/200506_wnn_ganss1_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/11-year-girl-writes-letter-mail-carrier-dozens-70488512"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133810954","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133779647","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133810835","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133749799","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133777519","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133748258","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133730535","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133712423","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133694181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133688738","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:living:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"living","title":"11-year-old writes thank you note to mail carrier","pubTime":"16:40","pubDate":"05-04-2020","modTime":"08:51","modDate":"05-06-2020","taxonomyTags":"none","id":70488512,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"Gabriella Abdul-Hakim","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"11-year-old writes thank you note to mail carrier","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_11-YEAR-OLD AND USPS LETTERS_200504","videoId":70488512,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/living/story/11-year-girl-writes-letter-mail-carrier-dozens-70488512"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/70488512","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/70488512","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};