Since I was young, I can remember receiving greeting cards for everything from birthdays to Christmases, and occasionally even Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and St. Patrick’s Day (so odd). Sometimes, they would have a thoughtful message, other times they would generically be written with “Dear Yvonne,” and “Love, <Giver>,” and occasionally, cash, a gift card, or a check would be stuffed into it. Cards have been a part of my life for as long as I remember. When I give cards now as an adult, I always try to write something thoughtful in hopes that it will be meaningful and unique to the recipient, and I hope the recipient will keep it. And if they are lucky enough, their cards will be handmade by me.

I always knew around Christmas time that so many kids around this country and the world never have the privilege of getting Christmas gifts to open on Christmas day; that’s why so many organizations request donations for clothes and toys for gifts for under-privileged children. At my last company every year, we’d organize a Secret Santa drive and volunteers at our company would offer to pick gifts requested by children in need and have them bought and sent to the nonprofit organization to hand out. I took special joy in picking out a Lego set for one lucky boy one year because I loved Legos so much as a kid. But what I had never really thought about was the fact that some children have never even received a greeting card in their whole life, and that receiving one that is addressed specifically to them could truly make their day.

So this year for the Christmas season, I am participating in writing and sending greeting cards to children in foster care in the San Francisco Bay Area through Braid Mission’s Cards of Hope program. A Wellesley alum posted on Facebook about this organization she helped founded, and she said that some children when receiving and reading the cards get so excited and even cry, wondering with glee why any random stranger around the country would want to send little ol’ them a handwritten card. Her descriptions of the kids’ reactions at opening the cards made me feel teary, and as someone who always has plenty of greeting cards, I knew it would be a good idea to participate. So much joy could be found in a simple card; it’s so easy to take for granted in our fast-paced world where the disparity between the rich and the poor is so great.