I am not a writer. Please help me A neighbor daughter has asked me to write a reference letter for her. It is for a princess contest for a local group. This group is all about community service, this used to be for children of parents who were very active, but now it is based on the child's merit. So how do I address this? Anyone want to write me up a sample letter so I can add to it?

By Luvn29 on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - 12:51 pm:

Yikes! If it were for a job, I could help you! What are some of her qualities and values? Maybe that will help...

By Yjja123 on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - 01:19 pm:

Sample Character Reference Letter

To Whom it May Concern:

I have had the pleasure of knowing Katherine Kingston for eight years. During the years of our acquaintance, I have known Katherine in many capacities. She has been my Mother's Helper since the birth of my first child five years ago. Her responsibilities in that capacity have grown with the activity level of a now pre-schooler, and the addition of another child, now a toddler.

Katherine has has also been involved with a variety of tasks at my retail business, a specialty shop fitting women for mastectomy, compression, maternity, and nursing products.

Her experiences have included working on inventories, our newsletter, mailing list, and web design, as well as customer interface.

Katherine is an intelligent, capable, and personable young woman. She is always quick on her feet, with sensible reactions in all the circumstances I've seen her in. I feel confident in saying that she is capable of handling any situation with thoughtfulness and maturity.


To Whom it May Concern:

Jennifer Smith would be an excellent candidate for the scholarship you are offering. In the eleven years that I have known Jenny, she has been an excellent role model for my two children. She is the person who taught them to be gentle with her new kitten. She demonstrated extreme patience in repeatedly showing them how to handle it. Her corrections came with explanations that helped them understand why it was necessary to do what she was asking of them.

Jenny also demonstrates empathy and compassion for those less fortunate. She makes a special effort to include the neighbor’s disabled child whenever it is possible. At the last block party she helped this child participate in the group dodge ball game. Another time, in an effort to communicate with a deaf fellow employee at her part time job, she learned some sign language.

I feel these attributes demonstrate someone with an exceptional character. Please consider awarding her your scholarship so that she may pursue her education.


Sincerely yours,

By Kaye on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - 01:38 pm:

Thanks yvonne...that will get me started. Absolutely for a job, I could do that, but as for service oriented role I was a little stumped. Honestly she is a great kid despite not so great parents. I don't think they will consider her because her family isn't very involved in the community. Which is a real shame because this girl has overcome so much and has really developed into an amazing young woman.

By Tsa on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - 01:49 pm:

Say just that in the letter. If I was on the committee to select a winner I would defineately take that into acct.

By Ginny~moderator on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - 02:36 pm:

You might want to word that part of it carefully - maybe something like:

Jane's family has other priorities and is not able to be involved in community activities in any significant way, so the work she has done in the community has been on her own initiative, and she has developed other resources to support her involvement. I believe that her commitment to community service even without the support networks available to others deserves special recognition.