As many of you know, I started Caring Hearts Card Drive back in 2009 with the goal of sending out holiday card to the elderly that lives in nursing homes to let them know that they still matter & not forgotten.
Throughout the year, the card drives grow so much thanks to the support of generous card makers all over the world. I am proud and grateful that I was able to do it for 10 years in a row.
As usual, around this time of the year, I started getting quite a few emails asking if I am hosting it again this year. This card drive is my labor of love and a cause that's really close to my heart as I dedicated it to my mom. After long thoughts and consideration, I have decided not to host it for this year. I need to take a break as I want to focus on my family time. This is not a decision that I make lightly. I don't want to disappoint the people that expecting our cards every year.
However, I am delighted to share that Ron Tyson from Bring Smiles to Seniors organization have contacted me and offer to take over and continue the effort. And, the good thing about Ron's organization, they have dedicated team of volunteers and they send the cards all throughout the year. Not just on holidays. So, you can send in your thinking of you cards or any extra cards you have to them any time. Yay!!
Please note though, Bring Smiles To Seniors only sending cards to nursing homes in the US only. For those in Canada and Australia who are interested I encourage you to reach out to your local nursing homes & send cards to them directly. It will brighten their day. No need to wait till the holidays.
Here's a little bit about Bring Smiles to Seniors on their own words.
Bring Smiles to Seniors is in its 5th year of sending cards to senior communities all across the country. We work with schools, civic groups, individuals and companies to make and decorate greeting cards. These cards are then sent to nursing homes, assisted & independent living communities, seniors at home and those participating in elderly nutrition programs like Meals on Wheels.
This year Bring Smiles to Seniors will be sending to our Caring Heart Senior Communities for us (my genuine thank you to Ron for this offer).
This organization is a 501(c)(3) non profit and sends to senior communities all throughout the year. They have sent over 106,000 cards so far in 2020. With seniors in isolation the need is great. They welcome holiday and every day cards, with messages or without, which can be sent to them at
Bring Smiles to Seniors P.O. Box 226 Odessa, FL 33556. You can learn more about them on their website at
www.bringsmilestoseniors.com, on their facebook page at
www.facebook.com/bringsmilestoseniors or on instagram @bringsmilestoseniors. If you have questions you can email them at
info@bringsmilestoseniors.com.
Please feel free to share this info. I am hoping to host the card drive again in 2021. I am not sure. What I am sure is I am grateful for Bring Smiles to Seniors for their commitment & mission. Their offer brings me comfort knowing that the residents of nursing homes will continue to get cards, which I am sure during this current time are needed even more.
Thank you all again for all your support this past 10 years. I hope you will continue sending in your cards by sending them to Bring Smiles to Seniors. Kindness matter and sharing handmade kindness definitely make a difference.
8 comments:
Thanks for all your efforts for the last 10 years. Thank you for this link to be able to continue the love.
This is great to hear! Will the opportunity to provide cards for older people internationally as well be an option? Usually there is an opportunity to send cards and support older people in Canada.
Thank you for all the years of hard work. Enjoy your time off
I do have a question though. In the past I have given left over medical supplies like Depends and such to a local nursing home. This year they refused my usual donations because of the virus. Items must be new and in package before they can accept them. Is there a problem with handmade cards because of this?
Interested in Canada as well.
Each place have their own regulation. I don’t have the capacity to check with each nursing home And that’s part of the reason why I decided not to host the card drive this year. Bring Smiles To Senior have bigger staff of volunteers and I am pretty sure they check first with each place they send cards to. Thank you for caring and for all the support.
At this point die to postage cost, Bring Smiles to Senior inly mailing to US nursing homes. Let’s hope things get better next year and we can do the card drive again. ❤️
Vera, Thanks for your decade of dedication and support to such a worthy cause. You bring a smile to my heart as you have to so many others. I look forward to contributing cards to Smiles for Seniors & maybe, just maybe, you & I will be able to meet over a coffee again. Until then, take care & stay safe. ~Audrey
Vera, I have participated in the past 4 years in the Caring Hearts program. I live in Canada and contacted one of the long term care facilities that a friend moved into this year. They were thrilled to accept handmade cards. The cards will be signed with first name only under the inside sentiment but no envelopes as they felt that was too difficult for many of their residents. I have 110+ made so far just over 1/3 of the total residents. I'm hoping that with the help of other local stampers we can provide a bit of Christmas cheer to these people who have endured facility shutdowns, quarantine, illness and loss of fellow residents during this COVID year. Thank you for the inspiration.
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