I was thinking about the history of Cardz For Kidz recently and how it has grown. In the early days, we were only receiving cards from a couple of partners and delivering them to one location, so we didn’t have to worry about supply and demand. As we began to receive an influx of cards from partners and more places requesting cards, I began to notice a few trends. People love to make cards around Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Easter, but there’s often a large decrease in production during the summer. To this day, we’re still reviewing the data to determine if this is due to schools being out in the summer, more people on vacation, or maybe people simply prefer not to volunteer during the summer.
The summer lull is what sparked the idea to host a Pledge Allegiance event that took place every July. The goal of that event was to raise funds and get more cards. People would make a “per card pledge” so for every card that was made a specific dollar amount was donated.
Here are a few photos from those historic events:
2014
2015
2017
2018
2019
With COVID-19 limiting our ability to gather in person, we moved all in-person gatherings to virtual events allowing people from all over to join.
Originally, I thought the 4th of July was the most memorable/celebrated summer event that we could try to piggyback on, which is why he held our Pledge of Allegiance events in July. Now I’m more comfortable discussing my epilepsy. Now, in addition to celebrating the 4th of July, we can highlight the successful anniversary of my brain surgery, 8/5/2005. Now August 5th is known as Cardz For Kidz Day.
Cardz For Kidz day started in 2020. It’s a virtual event where we will make cards, highlight the impact of the artwork and other ways to get involved, and spotlight contributors who go above and beyond making cards.
So, join this year’s virtual event on August 5th – RSVP HERE. If you’re unable to join us, you can celebrate with us by helping us reach our goal of having 85 people sign up to donate at least $5/month on 8/5 – DONATE HERE.
With the help of donors/friends, this day that was once feared and embarrassing is becoming a POSITIVE DAY TO REMEMBER.
To see more pictures and stories, please check out our Facebook page; follow us on Twitter and Instagram; visit our LinkedIn page! Also, check out some of our videos on YouTube!