What is the Caring Hearts Card Drive?

The Caring Hearts Card Drive is a crafting community project aimed at providing holiday cards to the elderly living in long term care homes, so they know they still matter and are not forgotten. The drive was started in the US in 2009 but quickly spread across the world. Card makers in the Ottawa area took up the torch in 2017 - creating and distributing hundreds (actually thousands) of A2 (4.25 x 5.5”) cards each year.  

After a break during COVID, dozens of volunteer card makers have kept the tradition alive since 2021. Long term care homes in our area have told us the residents very much like to receive holiday wishes so we are participating again in 2024.

Interested in participating? Send an email to info@caroletomdesign.com and we will send you complete instructions, as well as a form for providing your contact information. Whether you are planning to make 1 card or 100 cards - ALL cards are welcome.

What are the card requirements?

To keep the cards consistent for packing and distribution, as well as to ensure residents receive comparable cards, the cards need to follow the following guidelines:

• Size - standard A2 size (4.25 x 5.5 inches).

• Theme - holiday wishes.

• Language - cards may be either in English or in French.

• Sentiment - cards need a title or sentiment on the front and a message inside. Message can be handwritten.

• Signature - cards must be signed (first name only is fine). Recipients like knowing where the card is coming from.

• Caring Hearts Ottawa name - this tells the residence where the cards are coming from. Labels are available for card makers participating in the drive.

• Envelopes - card must be accompanied by an envelope but not placed inside the envelope. The residence staff needs to see the cards before distributing them and the staff does not have time to take them out of envelopes.

• Safety - cards should not include anything sharp - brads are ok as long as the “tails” are not sticking out.

• Quantity - whether you are planning to make 1 card or 100 cards - ALL are welcome. Please let us know how many you are planning to make (in what language) so we can plan which residences we can accommodate with cards.