Caring Hearts Card Drive 2019

Sharing information today about this beautiful card drive started by my friend, Vera, back in 2010! She works hard to send cards and love into the world, and I am all about that! Please consider getting involved and help Vera reach her goals this year!

My name is Vera Yates and I am the founder of Caring Hearts Card Drive. I started this card drive 10 years ago thanks to my mom suggestion. When I started this card drive in 2010, I honestly thought it'd be for that year only as I wasn't sure whether I will even have people participating. I was cranking up a lot of card myself just in case I don't receive many cards. That first year I collected  about 750 cards. 

I was super green and so very thankful to have Jennifer McGuire's guidance and with her support she really helped me in keeping this card drive going year after year. LOL, every year I always thought it's going to be the last one, but then I feel certain commitment to those who are looking forward to receiving these cards.

The purpose of our card drive is to collect handmade holiday cards for the elderly that live in nursing homes or live alone.

The holidays are about family, kindness, and joy. During this time many of the elderly living in nursing homes may feel extra lonely or miss their families. We can bring a smile to their faces and brighten their holiday season simply by sharing our love of card making. A simple gesture to let them know that they are not forgotten. That someone is still thinking of them. We all love making cards and what’s better than knowing that our creations can bring a smile to others, right?

We send packages of cards to hundreds of nursing homes throughout the US, Canada and Australia. I have an amazing group of volunteers who helped in collecting and distributing the cards. From some of the nursing homes they express how much their residents love receiving the cards and comparing where they're from. It's one of the thing they look forward to. I hope many of you will join in and contribute.

IMPORTANT DETAILS:

• This card drive will be run from October 4 to November 8, 2019. We need to receive your cards by November 15, 2019
• Please make the cards for Christmas or Holiday Wishes only.
• All cards need to have a message inside (can be stamped or hand written).
• Sign your name and where you are from inside the card. 
• Include an envelope for each card and please don't seal the envelope.
• Please stick to standard size A2 or 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" card as this will help us in packing more efficiently. 
• Please don't use any pins or loose glitter (for safety reasons). 
• This is totally optional, but if you'd like to include $3 or $5 to help with shipping, it'll be much appreciated. We cover the shipping cost ourselves & postage prices have increased. Last year we struggle to cover the postage cost, so any donation toward shipping would help us tremendously.

For US, you can mail the cards to:

• Vera Yates, 1314 Roy St., Houston, TX 77007 (Note: if you're in Houston and would like to drop off the cards directly please email me at: wirianta at hotmail.com)
• Cindy Groh, 111 10 Mile Rd NW Sparta, MI 49345 

For Australia:

• Deb McCleary, CHCD, PO Box 54, Watsonia, VIC, 3087 Australia

For Canada:

• Caroline Bredeson, 11 Ave. des Oblats, Unit 112, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5V8, Canada
• Rita Andrews, 28 West Gissing Rd, Cochrane, Alberta T4C 1L6, Canada 

In each package, PLEASE include THIS 2019 SUBMISSION FORM. This helps us in keeping track for prizes! For each card you send, you will get a chance. So the more cards you send, the better your chances.

For complete details on the prizes please go to my blog post HERE.

Sincerely Yours,