After Penn State extended its cancellation of in-person classes through the rest of the spring semester, many students feel like they’re missing out on everything Happy Valley has to offer.

However, one Penn State mom is working to cheer students up by doing what moms do best: caring way too much.

A few weeks ago, Lurae Benzio saw her sophomore daughter and her friends were bummed they wouldn’t be returning to campus at all this semester. To help cheer them up, Benzio began to send notes of encouragement to her daughter’s friends.

After realizing just how effective her positive reinforcement could be, Benzio took her initiative to Penn State’s WE ARE Creative! Facebook group to extend her mission beyond her daughter’s friends.

Benzio posted her idea of writing notes of encouragement by asking members to send her their students’ names and addresses. Before she knew it, she was sending letters to students across the country.

“The response was great, and I soon had about 20 student addresses to send notes to,” Benzio said. “Because I wanted to send something to every student, I chose to set aside my note cards and put my thoughts into the form of a letter.”

Benzio begins her letters by introducing herself and her mission to bring a smile to the faces and hearts of many students. As students began receiving their notes, Benzio started getting more requests to form parents wanting their Nittany Lions to receive notes to help cheer them up. As of Friday afternoon, she’s sent letters to more than 130 students across the country/

“It has become a labor of love and a way to express not only my care, concern, and love for the students during this time, but to relay a little hope that everything will be okay and ‘WE ARE!’ a family that gets each other through the tough times,” Benzio said.

Anyone interested in becoming a “Sender of Kindness” and taking part in Benzio’s letter-writing campaign is encouraged to join the Facebook group and send her a message.