Mar 23, 2015
Share Joy – Thinking of You
Happy Monday, crafty friends! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! I’m very excited as today is the start of our next Share Joy campaign! Since 2013, our wonderfully generous fans and customers have mailed in over 2000 hand-made cards that we have donated to a number of extraordinary causes. You can read more about our previous Share Joy campaigns here.
Our new Share Joy campaign is focused on Thinking of You cards to support grieving families in our community. In the course of their work, the Spiritual Care team from a local hospital observed too many families becoming entrenched in anger and despair following the death of a loved one, which had a lasting, negative effect on their family life. In response, the team researched methods for helping families grieve in healthy ways and found one thing that made a significant difference in how a family grieved. What was it? Communicating with families about the positive impact their loved one had on someone else. Families simply needed to know that their loved one made someone else’s life better.
In light of this, the Spiritual Care team started to send hand-written notes to families for an entire year following the loss of their family member. These notes describe the ways their loved one made someone else’s life better, and they are written by a variety of people – nurses, chaplains, even other patients. While this initiative is quite new, the team is seeing tremendous results as many more families are grieving in healthier ways.
When our team learned about this amazing practice, we knew we wanted to help in any way we could. Through discussion with the Spiritual Care team, we have been invited to provide them with hand-made Thinking of You cards. Our goal is to provide them with 600 Thinking of You cards. And our hope is that you, our wonderful customers, will join us by donating your hand-made Thinking of You cards!
If you’d like to join our mission, below are the guidelines for creating your cards and details for mailing them to us!
Guidelines for Card Donations
1. A2 cards only (4.25″ x 5.5″), no envelopes necessary
2. Theme – Thinking of You (including a “Thinking of You’ sentiment on the card front is optional)
3. Blank Inside – If using a dark color for your card base, please adhere a white or cream piece of cardstock to the inside of your card where notes can be written.
4. The use of TE products is not required to donate to Share Joy.
Mailing Address for Card Donations:
Taylored Expressions
Share Joy
121 SE Shurfine Dr. Suite 3
Ankeny, IA (Iowa) 50021
On top of the excitement of helping to make a huge difference with your cards, every person who participates will be entered into a drawing to win one of three prize packs! The prize packs are identical with each pack including the following items:
Cloudy Days Embossing Folder
Rainbow Brights 6×6 Paper Pack
Pocketful of Sunshine Stamp & Die Combo
Build a Scene – Rolling Clouds set of dies
Please have your package postmarked by May 8 in order to qualify for the drawing, however, we will continue to accept donations beyond this date. Prize pack winners will be announced on May 18th.
Share Joy Sketch & Inspiration
Design team member Jen Shults was kind enough to provide us with a fun sketch for our Share Joy campaign. Feel free to use the sketch if you’re looking for a jump start, however, using the sketch is not a requirement for card donations. Check it out below along with a card I created using the sketch:
I finished off the card with a few of my favorite embellishments; sprinkles and natural burlap twine.
Thanks so much for tuning in today! I hope you will consider joining us in our Share Joy campaign. Stay tuned for updates as we pursue our goal of 600 cards! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us!
Thank you in advance for using your time and talents to Share Joy! Happy stamping!
