SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Words are powerful.
And one South Dakota student with ties to Minneapolis is using her words to spread joy.
Emerson Weber sent a letter to her mail carrier and it delivered smiles.
Em is a 5th grader in South Dakota.
Her mom is also her language arts teacher.
She wrote in part "You may know me as the person that lives here and writes a lot of letters and decorated envelopes.
And she thanked him for making it possible for her to keep in touch.
"Without Doug I really wouldn't be able to send letters or keep in contact with people. He is important to get them delivered to the people I write," she said. "I don't have a cellphone. I really want one so that Is why he is really important."
She also shared a few jokes in her letter and her love for Taylor Swift.
Days later, she got a surprise.
"I got a bunch of big boxes of letters on Saturday," she told us via Zoom.
Her dad, Hugh Weber, shared what happened on Twitter.
Turns out, the mail carrier, Doug, shared Em's letter with his boss.
Em's note was shared with other mail carriers across the country.
Then, there was another surprise at the Weber home in South Dakota.
Postal workers send her notes of gratitude and appreciation.
" I got a bunch of letters. Some writing about themselves and their family and of course some jokes," she said. "My favorite one, they were all kind of cheesy, asking why did the cookie go to the doctor. Because he was feeling crummy."
But Em made those folks who feel crummy in the midst of the pandemic - smile.
They felt seen.
No matter the social distance between us the mail doesn't stop.
And the letter Emerson Weber sent delivered smiles.
She also got vintage stamps to start a stamp collection from friends in Minnesota, where her family once lived.
One letter said, "I work alone in a small rural post office. My kids live far. Not a lot of people think about how hard we work."
A note to her parents said in part, "This has sparked great joy in a time of turmoil in our country. I thank you for raising a daughter like Emerson."
And one that touched her family, "I have a son in Kuwait and if you have a second to send him a letter he would love it."
Em's father, who says the story has been shared more than 15 million times on social media, said the letter revealed human connection and is something we all crave.
"We are realizing in a state of quarantine how much we count on other people. We count on them for our physical health. Our emotional health. Our mental health. It takes little to help people be well," he said. "Write a letter. Send a note. Say thank you. My hope is that they know how much we appreciate them. Postal Service in this case and a whole bunch other essential employees."
Now with dozens of new pen pals, Em is doing what she does best.
Spreading a little hope by writing and sending letters to all the people who sent her letters.