Manhasset middle school students in Robin Levitt’s Introduction to Business and Careers course are ready to take on the business world. Students in this new course recently explored the importance of business communication by participating in an exciting project aimed at strengthening their professional written communication skills.

Each student conducted research on brands and selected one that they admired. After finding their respective brand’s top executives and owners, along with their mailing addresses, the students wrote persuasive business letters to them. The letters were a class effort as each student had their peers proofread what they wrote before mailing it out. The students also learned how to self-address, stuff and mail their letters off in an envelope.

According to Ms. Levitt, the goal of the project was to not only to help students enhance their professional writing skills but to express gratitude to the brands and to hopefully receive a response back. The students included Ms. Levitt’s email address in their letters so that CEO’s could connect with her if they wanted to send something back to their student writer.

The letter-writing project was a huge success as students began receiving packages at the school from the brands that they wrote letters to. They received responses from brands such as Baked by Melissa, IBM, Kiss Nails, Kroeger, Mario Badescu Skin Care, Milk Makeup and the Honest Company, along with sports teams such as the New York Giants, the New York Islanders and the New Jersey Devils.

Tim Cook, CEO of Milk Makeup, responded to his letter recipient Brooke Valentine by applauding Ms. Levitt and the unique project.

“I think it is fantastic that Ms. Levitt is teaching you how to write in a professional context,” he said in his letter to Brooke. “I wish that I had been able to take her course when I was in seventh grade, it would have helped me a lot later on in life…Communicating effectively is a very important part of giving your dreams the best chance of becoming a reality because more often than not, you will need to convince others to help you in order to bring those dreams to life.”

Aside from thoughtful letters back to the students, many of the brands generously sent products and merchandise to their letter-writer or to the entire class. This included apparel, cupcakes, gift baskets, bags, makeup, stickers and more.

“The students can’t wait to see if their peers received mail and they love to check the mailbox,” Ms. Levitt said. “It has truly been such a rewarding experience.”