INTERNATIONAL PEN FRIENDS (IPF) - UNITED KINGDOM
MEMBERSHIP
IPF's membership database is specifically not connected to the Internet.
We know that although the Internet provides opportunities for people to access friendship databases, many are poorly moderated, or uncontrolled. This can result in names, contact details and/or photos being freely available for anyone, anywhere to view; names being circulated for an unlimited period of time; non-current members, and a number of security and ethical issues arise. Our service has been designed differently, for the benefit and protection of our members.
Just fill in the membership form and send your remittance to IPF representative, Iona Lister.
What you will get for your membership
All IPF members are sent a list of pen friends that has been generated from our current membership database. Members are individually matched according to age group, hobbies and interests.
Each member's name is also given to other members of the club of a similar age during their 12 month membership (between 10-14 other members, depending on the service joined). This process enables members to start their pen friend experience by writing introductory letters to the people on their list, and to receive surprise introductory letters from other members.
The 12 month membership period does not affect how long members can write to one another. IPF members can write to one another for as long as they choose. However, if members would like to gain a new list of pen friends and make more friends when their membership expires, they will need to renew their membership. Some of our members renew their membership each time their membership expires, making new friends year after year; others join and then renew their membership many years later; others join once and only write to the people from their first and only IPF membership.
During the 12 months of your membership, your address is circulated to 10-14 IPF members worldwide whose addresses do not appear on your pen friend list. We may decide to slightly increase the number of times your address is circulated to other members to provide you with the opportunity to gain extra pen friends. You may receive letters from countries you did not select which can be a nice surprise.
If you feel you are not happy with the number of letters you receive, you can always ask for one extra list of 10 addresses for which there is an affordable fee.
Your membership expires automatically after 12 months . Naturally, you can continue correspondence with your pen friends for as long as you like after your membership has expired. In fact, many people make lifelong friends! If you want new pen friends after this period, you may renew your membership for another year by submitting a new application. If you do not want your address circulated anymore before the expiry date, please notify us as soon as possible.
How we choose your penfriends
You will be matched according to your areas of interest, language(s) and countries you have selected - based on availability. Sometimes it happens that pen friends in the exact countries you requested are not available at the time your application is processed. In this case we will provide you with pen friends from other countries. We will also try to find pen friends from the countries you require during the course of your membership and we will ask them to communicate directly with you.
The pen friends you will receive on your list will be in your age group. Children will be matched with pen friends aged +/- 1 year, teenagers +/- 2 years. For services C5 upwards the matched pen friends´ ages can vary more.
Feedback from our members constantly highlights that their most active, genuine and long-lasting pen friends have been gained through IPF.
IPF's Student Services
IPF's Student Services are very popular. Many teachers join their classes every year; each year also sees many new schools participating.
Writing to pen friends is a great way for young people to learn good writing techniques and gain a deeper understanding of subjects such as history, geography, music, languages, commerce, literature and art. Most importantly, students discover the cultures of foreign lands. As friendship develops between correspondents, the possibility of exchange visits can be explored, adding yet another dimension to the pen friend experience.
There is an explanatory page and forms with and all you need to know about the applying for the student service.
Please contact the IPF representative Iona Lister (UK) with any queries - and to return the forms.
