Making Cards for Hospitalized Kids

What impact does a card make?

Hospitalized kids often feel lonely, isolated, fearful, different from peers, etc. They often also have to cope with missing out on childhood experiences that are taken for granted by most kids, such as attending school regularly. 

An uplifting, handmade card truly helps with these challenges by brightening the child's day, making them feel special & reminding them they are not forgotten because they are sick.

The cards are especially meaningful for regular card-receiving kids that are hospitalized regularly and/or for extended periods of time. 

Who can make cards?

Everyone!! This is a simple, yet rewarding, way to make a difference. People of all levels of artistic ability can make cards. Individuals & groups of all ages have done so.

We distribute cards monthly, and on major holidays, to hospitals nationwide. We want to give cards to as many hospitalized kids as possible and we need your help. 

Making a card takes minutes but the impact it leaves lasts much longer. This is a unique opportunity to use time and creativity to touch a sick child's life. 

What happens to the cards after I send them in?

Once we receive your cards, we process them. This involves checking to ensure they meet the guidelines listed here on our site, and then sorting them into categories. 

We receive different types of cards; From cards by 1st graders, to high level artistic cards, to cards made by Olympic Gold Medalists. 

We have a sorting system, so that each hospital receives a variety rather than one hospital receiving all cards from 1st graders, while another is receiving all cards by an Olympian. The hospitals prefer this system.

Where are the cards distributed?

We have a network of Children's Hospitals nationwide that receive our cards. We work with the Child Life Department at each hospital to distribute the cards.

We also distribute to Ronald McDonald Houses for Children, as well as individual patients as part of our request a card program.

We've reached all 50 states, and are also constantly expanding to new hospitals.
All decisions regarding what is, and is not, allowed on cards were made with the guidance of  St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Tennessee , Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and Miami Children's Hospital in Florida, which are three of the many hospitals nationwide that receive our cards!