Tom Hanks pens heartwarming letter to bullied boy named Corona
Hollywood actor Tom Hanks has found a new penpal after returning to the United States from Australia. Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, were in Australia when they were diagnosed with the coronavirus last month.
A young fan from the Gold Coast reached out to Hanks after he was experiencing some problems at school.
Corona DeVries, 8, was being bullied for his name in light of the coronavirus pandemic. He wrote to Hanks saying, "I heard on the news you and your wife had caught the coronavirus," 9 News reported. "Are you OK?"
The boy wrote that he likes his name, but the bullies made him feel "very sad and angry."
Hanks wrote back on a typewriter, which he had taken to the Gold Coast.
"Your letter made my wife and I feel so wonderful!" Hanks wrote. "You know, you are the only person I've ever known to have the name Corona – like the ring around the sun, a crown."
While the letter lifted the spirits of the young boy, Hanks also sent him a surprise gift — his Corona typewriter.
"I thought this typewriter would suit you," Hanks wrote. "Ask a grown up how it works. And use it to write me back."
In a nod to a Toy Story classic hit, Hanks added a sweet note to the end of his letter. "P.S. You got a friend in ME!"
