Working in the Mail Processing Department
Author: Kaleb Johnson | Student, Living Education – Charlotte, 2022-23
Estimated reading time: 3 min.
Here’s a look at the students who work in the Mail Processing Department for the Living Education work/study program.
The Mail Processing Department (MPD) forms a critical part of the Work. MPD sends out booklets, semi-annual letters, Bible Study Course lessons, and Tomorrow’s World magazines to thousands of people worldwide. The department ensures that everyone receives their literature in a timely manner and reduces cost wherever possible to help God’s Work be efficient and effective. This year, two students work in the MPD: Dawn Rude and Jontavius Mincey.
Jontavius Mincey works as a Mail Clerk Assistant, assisting the Mail Processing Department to meet their daily goals.
Jon’s tasks include stuffing envelopes by hand, operating a mail-inserter machine, and delivering mail to employees in the office. Recently, the MPD worked tirelessly on the project of sending out as many semi-annual letters themselves as possible to defray costs. While he had experience in similar events already, Jon has learned some unique skills, like how to operate a mail-inserter, which apparently involves a lot of unjamming.
Jontavius’ Main Roles in the Mail Processing Department:
- Insert certain mail by hand
- Organize pallets of outgoing mail
- Operate Mail-Inserter
- Sort and deliver incoming mail
- Assist with loading/unloading deliveries
Most fun part of the job? “Probably being around Mr. Bonjour (the MPD director). He makes everything a lot more funny and enjoyable to be around.”
Most challenging part of the job? “If you make a mistake with the mail, you have to go back and redo them all. That is a lot of extra-work and irritating.”
Dawn Rude works as a Mail Assistant in the Mail Processing Department, helping to perform labor-intensive tasks.
Dawn also works at stuffing envelopes and packaging literature. At the beginning of the year, she worked two days a week doing landscaping at the dorms. However, the MPD decided they could use her all five days a week to help out. She takes care of many labor-intensive tasks like wrapping books and sorting literature requests, which allows the department to run smoothly. She briefly operated the mail-inserter but “didn’t like the fact that it jammed so much.”
Dawn Rude’s Main Roles in the Mail Processing Department:
- Insert certain mail by hand
- Sort literature requests
- Burn DVDs for delivery
- Assist with the labeling machine
Most fun part of the job? “Oh, definitely getting to talk to people during work. Sometimes, you’ll just be sitting there, stuffing envelopes with booklets or DVDs with someone next to you, and we’ll just have some pretty crazy conversations. It’s nice.”
Most challenging part of the job? “Probably staying focused when you don’t have anyone to talk to or headphones to listen to something. It can be a little repetitive and that can get to you.”
Opportunities in the Mail Processing Department
The Mail Processing Department defrays costs of sending literature by handling as much of the printing, inserting, and labeling process as they can. This department operates just like a high-functioning business: it is about getting results in a cost-effective and fast way. Students get experience working in a fast-paced environment, operating machinery, meeting deadlines, and just manual labor like inserting envelopes. All of this experience can directly translate into countless warehouse and production-related jobs. More importantly, the Mail Processing Department saves the Church money by handling much of the necessary printing and mailing. There is, essentially, an endless amount of work they could do, and every bit of it would be valuable. The more students help and contribute, the more God’s Work can do!
We have done two other work/study related Student Life posts before. One is about working in the Maintenance Department. The other is about working in the Living Education department. Check them out if you are interested!
Kaleb Johnson is a student in the Living Education-Charlotte Program. He graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in the spring of 2022. In addition, Kaleb enjoys writing, video-making, trying new activities (anything and everything), playing chess, and debating (it’s not arguing!) with people. He currently works in the Living Education department producing written content & videos and helping with a variety of other projects.
