CLEVELAND, Ohio - Hundreds of letters and postcards flood the downtown Cleveland P.O. Box of Deanna, who doesn't like to disclose her last name because she regularly corresponds with strangers around the globe.

Instead, she'll just direct you to her Instagram account, Global Pen Pal, where she posts snapshots of the mail she's received over the last three years. But she knew if people from all corners of the map were interested in writing letters, there must be others right here in her hometown of Cleveland.

She launched CLE Letter Writers Club one year ago during National Card and Letter Writing Month, and the group now typically meets every first Wednesday of the month. This 6-8 p.m., Wednesday, April 4, the meet-up celebrates the anniversary at Lakewood's Root Cafe at 15118 Detroit Ave. The events are free and open to the public.

"I've received letters from all over the world," Deanna says. "I couldn't have envisioned how many people I'd hear from. It's kind of like virtual armchair traveling. Lots of times you learn a little bit about those places. It's surprising what people will divulge."

Since she launched the account, she's corresponded with senders that range from a college student who shares her enthusiasm for typewriters in California to a mother of young children on the island of Guernsey to the owner of a vintage shop in the Netherlands. And for every new writer that hails from another hometown, she discovers a little piece of the culture, politics and way of life in a different part of the world.

On Instagram, Deanna regularly shows her colorful mail against a Cleveland backdrop, offering slices of insight about the city where she lives. Pen pals from afar often comment on the city, both online and in letters.

Yes, it was the digital medium of Instagram that propelled the connecting of people through the very analog art form of letter writing. Hashtags like #snailmail, #sendmoremail and #writemoreletters on the CLE Letter Writers Club and Global Pen Pals accounts have attracted hundreds of followers, and many of the event's attendees are in their mid- 20s-to-30s.

"I think that in order to appeal to certain generations, you have to embrace the fact that we live in a social media world," Deanna says. "We're not going back to 100 percent analog anything. I think there is a niche for that, and I think we still crave that personal touch. I'm finding we can have the best of both worlds. We can enjoy the social media aspect of life that's here to stay, and we can still preserve what's older and still make time for it."

Still, when the group sets up in the corner of a cafe, there's no shortage of surprised looks from passersby. Taylor Horen, a 26-year-old social media specialist, has experience the phenomenon.

"Every time we gather, we have one or two people stop by our tables and ask what we're gathered for," says Horen. "It's nice to hear people's genuine appreciation for pen to paper letter writing. I look forward to our casual, come-as-you-are, bring whoever, meet-ups each month where I can catch up on my letter writing, learn from others creativity and make new friends who have a shared interest."

Letter writing is having a moment in plenty of cities outside of Cleveland, and Deanna credits some of the appeal to the rise of Anna Bond. Her Florida-based RIFLE PAPER Co. sells whimsical, colorful stationery that blends elements of folk art, hand lettering and crisp, modern illustration. She was even recently commissioned to design an official stamp.

"For some reason, everything Anna touches turns to gold," Deanna says. "She's kind of steered millennials back to paper products with her designs, from her home decor to her personal style to what she's introduced in stationery. She gives you this desire to have nice paper, and I think she's had a lot to do with the movement."

Seeing the envelope as a blank canvas and adding your own artistic twists and creative expression has become a popular piece of the letter writing trend. Deanna hopes to channel that energy into the next CLE Letter Writers Club, which will have a pop-up shop by local Blue Water Paper Studio.

Letters now pass through the mail with stylish collages and decorative combinations of vintage and modern stamps. But the lavish designs shouldn't detract from the main point of letter writing - making meaningful connections.

"I don't want that to stop anyone from writing to me," Deanna says. "A lot of times I show this beautiful mail and I don't want people to think if you can't turn an envelope into a piece of artwork that you shouldn't write a letter. The bottom line is it's about the communication, not just how fancy you can draw or hand letter."

The most important part of all, Deanna says, is finding common ground among other people, whether they're in your own city or across the ocean. Sometimes that comes in the form of dialogue, other times she's been sent small gifts like bags of tea or a newspaper clipping about a local love story.

"If we bumped into the same people in our own town on an elevator, we might never become friends," Deanna says. "But because the letter comes and it's lovely and inviting, it's amazing how many boundaries that we might otherwise put up are eliminated. You get to know people before you ever really 'meet' them. I've been brought to tears from the kindness and compassion of writers."

Sometimes that understanding just takes finding the time in the day to slow down and put pen to paper.

"When we carve out that time to do something, we find balance in so many other parts of our lives," Deanna says. "When we're constantly racing around, we want that quiet of writing a letter. We open a letter and see someone spent 30 minutes to write us, and we know they've set aside time to do that. And time is so valuable."