Cards of EnCOURAGEment

More than 80 volunteers (over ½ were children) stopped in at the St. Cloud Public Library on a cold Saturday in January 2011 to make heartfelt homemade cards.  This was a United Way Day of Action volunteer event called Cards of EnCOURAGEment.  More than 600 cards were created. They are being sent through the Red Cross to service members in Afghanistan who do not get much mail.

I had a chance to read many of the colorful, sticker-filled cards.  Here are a few:

 “Thank you. Please come home soon”

“Ready for a joke to make you laugh?  Why did the bird go into the kitchen? Tweet (to eat)”

“You are in our prayers”

“Sending you big hugs and cheers from home”

“Words are not enough to express our appreciation to courageous people like you”

One young girl, probably about 9 years old, came up to me and asked if she could show me one of the 10 cards she made.  She said she wanted to keep this one.  She had a relative who had been hit by three shots, he survived and she wanted to give it to him herself.  I was glad she found this as a time she could make a card to thank someone she knew and loved.

One group of children came all the way from Eden Valley to volunteer.  They made 93 cards. 

One woman who sat alone said her nephew had been in Iraq and she used to write and sent him packages.  He is home now and she wanted to send messages to others.

A mom and her two children said they were having a “United Way Day” – volunteering at Cards of EnCOURAGEment in the morning and Kids Against Hunger in the afternoon.  What a great way to help children learn the value of helping other people!

One man and his two children said they were at the library, saw the event was happening and stopped in.  They needed to get out of their small apartment and do something different.

Several Tech High School students helped with set up, take down and made cards. 

Sartell Middle School students made a large number of cards at school and got them to United Way to include in our batch of cards – poems, drawings, letters.

There is no doubt.  We will hold this event again in the future.