ITPenpals — A peer mentor letter program for kids and teens with ITP

Our mission

No one should face ITP feeling alone

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) can feel isolating, especially for a newly diagnosed child. Activity restrictions, blood draws, and unpredictable flares are hard enough without feeling like you're the only kid going through it. ITPenpals matches younger kids with older teen mentors who live with ITP too, for monthly letters full of encouragement, shared stories, hobbies, and proof that hard periods can be gotten through.

Because sometimes the best medicine is a letter from someone who gets it.

Who can join

Two ways to be part of it

Younger Pals

Ages 8–14

Newly diagnosed or currently navigating ITP? Get matched with an older teen mentor who has been there too. Trade letters, share your wins, and find out you're not the only one.

Mentor Teens

Ages 15–18

Living with or in remission from ITP? Become a mentor and be the encouraging voice you wish you had when you were first diagnosed. One letter a month can mean the world to a younger kid.

How it works

From signup to first letter

Sign up

A parent or guardian fills out the signup form and gives consent.

Get matched

Every match is personally reviewed and paired based on age and shared interests.

Write letters

Pals exchange one monitored letter or email each month, with parents kept in the loop.

Grow together

Build a real connection, celebrate wins, and get through the hard stretches together.

Safety first

Built for parents to trust

Parents and guardians are cc'd on all written correspondence.
No medical advice is ever given — pals share encouragement, not treatment tips.
No personal contact information is exchanged between pals.
No in-person meetings — this is a letters-and-email program only.
Concerns can be reported to the founder at any time, and any match can be paused, no questions asked.

A note on matching: I personally review every signup and every match before any pairing is made. All contact and confirmations go to the parent or guardian, never directly to the child.

"I want to show younger kids that they aren't alone, that they get to feel afraid and sad and angry, and that they can get through the hard periods too."

— Luka Anders-Weiner, Founder