Welcome to Creative Kindness Week 2023! Creative Kindness Foundation® is a non-profit corporation founded by Scrapbook.com. Creative Kindness® works with a variety of organizations through our programs. We have directly impacted the lives of over 514,340 individual people (and counting)!
We strive to empower anyone in need of positivity and cheer through the healing nature of handmade creativity. Through thoughtful initiatives and compassionate volunteers, Creative Kindness is bringing warmth, togetherness, and happiness to hundreds of thousands of people around the globe.
Creative Kindness Helps People Find Happiness and Healing Through
The Creation of Handmade Gifts.
Creative Kindness® consists of many initiatives that we are so so excited to share with you in the coming year! For Creative Kindness Week 2023, we are featuring the Cards for Kindness® Initiative!
CARDS FOR KINDNESS® BY CREATIVE KINDNESS
A handmade card for anyone who needs it.
Handmade cards can lift the human heart and spread happiness. Cards for Kindness® is a global initiative that centers around uplifting others and spreading happiness to anyone who could use an emotional boost, cheer, or a reminder of how loved they are.
Volunteer card makers from around the world send us handmade cards. Then, we distribute those cards to organizations that support people in need.
"Handmade cards signify care, love and tenderness. When a handmade card is combined with a handwritten message from a caregiver or nurse or volunteer, it becomes a beacon of hope. These cards will be saved, cherished and re-read over and over and many of them will become heirlooms."
- McKane Davis, Scrapbook.com President
How to Get Involved In Cards for Kindness®
Are you interested in creating handmade cards for Cards for Kindness®? Below you can find how to get involved!
- You send your handmade cards in our needed-themes (blank inside - with no personal message) to Cards for Kindness® by Creative Kindness®.
- We organize and distribute the cards to cancer foundations, hospitals, shelters, retirement homes, children's homes, and other organizations in need. (See our partner organizations here.)
- The cards are used by nurses, doctors, staff members, counselors, parents, and volunteers who add handwritten messages of encouragement and love before giving them to patients, children, and other people in need.
To find out more information on Cards for Kindness® submission guidelines, click here here.
“Participating in Cards for Kindness® was a feel-good experience. I was able to find a way to give my handmade cards special meaning. Sending was easy and I received confirmation that my cards had been received and filed for distribution. I’m getting another batch ready right now.”
- Cards for Kindness® Participant
Can I claim any expenses that I incurred while volunteering to make Cards for Kindness?®
Charitable contributions can be one of the best tax-saving opportunities available!
When you volunteer your time to assist with Cards for Kindness® - your expenses may qualify as a charitable contribution on next year's tax return (depending on your personal situation and deduction type).
Creative Kindness Foundation is an Arizona nonprofit (EIN:88-35822253). Any donation or volunteer expenses incurred since June 2022 may qualify as a charitable contribution, which may be eligible for a tax deduction depending on your individual situation. Please consult your tax advisor regarding your personal situation.
You can find more information on claiming expenses for Cards for Kindness® here.
REAL STORIES FEATURING CARDS FOR KINDNESS®
Cards for Kindness® is honored to serve organizations, communities, and people all around the globe. Our handmade cards uplift thousands who might be in need of some cheer. Hearing the stories of how Cards for Kindness® has positively impacted recipients and partner organizations brings a smile to our faces every time.
Ron Tyson, the president and founder of Bring Smiles to Seniors, shared his passion for sharing handmade cards to make a difference in someone's life. He shares his favorite moments on episode 48 of the Life Handmade Podcast: The Power of Handmade Cards: Real Stories of Cards for Kindness.
Ron explains that when he first began the Bring Smiles to Seniors program, he would speak to cardmakers within the program,"You've given me a new purpose in life, you know, I felt like I needed to give back. But I didn't have a way to, I love to make cards, but I don't know where to send them. And I wind up with this pile of cards that I don't know, I don't know where they're going to go. And, and the stories just go, you know, on and on about what it's done for people. And I talk about in my, you know, in my podcasts, and in my book about feeding the soul, and you know, and that's what I hear a lot from people that their handmade cards, you know, feed their soul. And that means a lot to me. So that's the giving side of it."
"The card making community has the biggest heart that you will ever see."
Ron Tyson, President and Found of Bring Smiles to Seniors
We love hearing the stories from our partner organization about how our volunteer cardmakers' handmade creations have inspired and brought joy to those within their programs:
"WOW!!! The cards arrived today, and they are beautiful!! Such a great variety of cards too! We can't wait to share them with our seniors. We starting a pen pal program, and many of these cards will be perfect for that! Thanks so much for reaching out to us."
- Rhonda Darby- Meals on Wheels Montgomery County - Community Programs Manager
'"We received our order of Cards for Kindness today.....what a thoughtful and lovely gift! I've gone through them all, and they are absolutely beautiful! We are so excited to be able to use these to help celebrate guests staying at the Ronald McDonald House! Thank you so very much! We are truly grateful!"
- Ronald McDonald House Charities - Western Montana - Teresa Windham - Development & Volunteer Coordinator.
"We received the cards last week. What an amazing blessing! These cards are incredible and will be such a blessing to our church family. Our staff has been blown away as they've walked into my office and witnessed me working to organize them by their sentiments. They also inspired me to make some cards of my own with my daughter this summer. So fun times with all my scrapbooking stuff (that I haven't touched in years) lie ahead!"
- Blessings, Andee Coppel Office
Listen to episodes of the Life Handmade Podcast Featuring Cards for Kindness®
Together we can lift hearts around the world with handmade creativity and kindness and make a difference in so many lives. We have already received and delivered thousands of cards, and we're just getting started. We cannot do it alone.
Share your Cards
We love seeing your handmade cards that are sent to our partner organizations, and we know others would love to see them too! You can share all of your beautiful projects in our Gallery! Below are some examples of cards created for the Cards for Kindness® Initiative!
The Ultimate Cards For Kindness Class to get you started!
Join 10 Designers to Create 10 Cards for Kindness® in this 10-part series! You will get an insider look into the creative process of 10 celebrated card makers who are joining us to create handmade cards for Cards for Kindness. You are invited into the personal craft spaces of these incredible designers as they share their favorite card making tips and techniques. Find this free class here.
Find Out More About Cards For Kindness®
