On Friday Nov. 4, about 300 handmade Remembrance Day cards created by students were sent to local veterans by the Langley Volunteer Bureau.
“They’ve all been put in the mail,” said Karen Long, president of the volunteer organization.
Long explained the bureau decided to trim the Remembrance Day seniors card list down from last year to focus on veterans, and allow them time to find seniors for the bureau’s rapidly-growing Christmas card program.
“It’s a little more practical [in terms of scheduling],”Long said, and it allows the bureau to go “full-on” with its Christmas card initiative, which has been so successful, it has generated more cards than there are recipients on their list.
“We need to reach more seniors,” Long explained.
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“This Christmas will be our third delivery of this program. The first year we provided Christmas cards, we reached 700 seniors and will now extend to over 3,000.”
Which would be a lot, if there weren’t even more people producing handmade cards.
They are projecting well over 4,000 Langley students will be personalizing Christmas cards for Langley seniors who associate with seniors organizations, live in seniors facilities, and are clients of senior outreach programs, Long said.
“It’s popular with the students, with more students and teachers signing up for the program,” Long told the Langley Advance Times.
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In an effort to find more seniors who might enjoy a personalized, handmade Christmas card this year, the bureau has added online registration.
Anyone can register their family member, friend or neighbour who is a senior and would enjoy receiving a card personalized by a local student in the mail for Christmas or Valentines Day 2023.
The link is at: https://www.langleyvolunteers.ca/cards-for-seniors/
While the recipients have to be in Langley, anyone can make a nomination, from anywhere, to have cards mailed to individual seniors.
“Maybe you live in Ontario, and you think your grandma would like a card,” Long suggested.
If the list can’t be expanded enough, “we’ll give some seniors two cards instead of one,” Long said.
This Christmas, groups will also be able submit their own art work to be printed up on cards.
Each participating group will receive a sign-up sheet to tell the bureau what types of cards, and how many of each, they need.
Available card kits are: blank postcards to decorate and write in, pre-printed postcards to write in, or colouring postcards students can colour.
Each card order comes with an inspiration sheet with ideas to decorate and also for the message itself.
Those who would like to donate to the card program can make contributions either through the Langley School District Foundation (specify that it is for the Langley Volunteer Bureau’s Cards for Seniors program) by clicking on https://www.langleyvolunteers.ca/cards-for-seniors/cards-for-seniors-donations/ or e-transfer: info@langleyvolunteers.ca.
Have a story tip? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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