Little Letters

Inspiration

Little Letters was inspired by a simple observation: while kids are more connected than ever digitally, many still lack access to consistent, positive mentorship. At the same time, college students often want to give back but don’t have an accessible, meaningful way to connect with younger students.

What it does

Little Letters is a safe, letter-based mentorship platform that connects MSU student mentors with K-12 students. Students exchange virtual penpal letters in a playful, engaging environment, while parents and guardians retain visibility and control.

Safety is a core design principle: Parent-approved student accounts Mentor verification Content filtering and guardrails Supervised communication with clear boundaries

The result is a platform that makes mentorship feel fun and personal, while remaining secure and trustworthy.

How we built it

Tech Stack: Frontend: Next.js + React Styling: Tailwind CSS Backend & Auth: Supabase (PostgreSQL + authentication) Animations: Lightweight UI animations to make letters feel interactive and rewarding The system models mentorship as a one-to-one relationship, with role-based access control for students, mentors, and parents. Letter delivery is intentionally asynchronous to reinforce thoughtful communication rather than instant replies.

Challenges we ran into

One of our biggest challenges was balancing child safety with user experience. We wanted the platform to feel warm and playful for kids without introducing risks. Designing guardrails that protect users without feeling restrictive required careful thought around permissions, moderation, and account roles. Another challenge was scope. For a hackathon project, building authentication, role-based dashboards, and a mentorship flow is ambitious. We had to make thoughtful trade-offs, focusing on a strong core experience rather than too many features. Finally, designing for trust - especially from parents - meant thinking beyond just code. Every design decision had to answer the question: Would a parent feel comfortable with their child using this?

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of creating a fully functional, end-to-end mentorship platform within a hackathon setting with all hand-drawn art! This includes secure authentication, role-based access control, parent visibility features, and a playful, letter-based interface that feels welcoming to young users. We are especially proud of the interactive garden, which transforms participation into visible growth while reinforcing healthy communication habits.