KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. — A red beacon of hope overlooks the sea at Glenmere Beach Access in Kill Devil Hills.
There, Sue Goodrich opens a little red mailbox. She pulls out a journal. It's a haven for thoughts, dreams and humanity.
"When I lost my mother suddenly in 2011, I was really upset, and I used to come here, and I would just talk to my mom," said Sue Goodrich, Kill Devil Hills. "And I kept hearing her say, 'Sue if you ever feel sad, just help someone else out.'"
She decided to place a mailbox at that spot.
It quickly filled up with messages from others in the community. And the Little Red Mailboxes began to pop up in other places in Virginia and across the country too.
When a journal in the mailbox at Glenmere Beach Access is filled, Goodrich brings it to the Kill Devil Hills Town Hall for safe keeping.
It's an important piece of the community.
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"We wanted to have a way that that message would keep going, that it would keep getting shared within our community," explained Rachel Tackett, Kill Devil Hills public information officer. "Again, going further than just the Kill Devil Hills community we also have these notes digitally archived. They're important. What people have to say is important."
Goodrich said the mailboxes will remain for times of joy and times of trouble.
"People needed a place, a place that's quiet," said Goodrich. "You can think, you can reflect, and writing it down is also therapeutic because your heart tells the story. Especially sitting here. Because you're sitting on the edge of the earth, and you know that everything's going to be okay."
It's the beacon of hope by the sea.
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Physical locations of Little Red Mailboxes can be found here.
If you can't visit in person the mailing address for the mailbox in Kill Devil Hills is:
P.O. Box 1719
Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948
