JUL 19, 2016 – Days after the Orlando nightclub shooting, we sent an eblast that read, “After the last heart-wrenching week, it felt odd and somehow disrespectful to be all business-as-usual this Monday morning, getting on with our relatively carefree lives while so many are still hurting. We know we can’t watch any more of the violent footage, or survivors being sadly pressed to tell the world what it’s like to live through their worst nightmare. Nor can we just look away. We want to be part of the solution, yet the problem is so vast and conflicted, where-oh-where to begin?”
“So we decided to just do what we do at Cardthartic — honor emotions — and ask if you’d like to join us in the cause. Because it seems to us that we are all, each and every one of us, still crying inside. We’re grieving the loss of so many innocent lives, as well as America’s collective innocence. We’re sad for the victims and their families, and scared that ‘there but for the grace of God go I or one of mine.’ We see the tears, and still feel the sting of those we’ve shed through the losses we’ve suffered in our own lives.
“If you care to participate, we’d like to send you three of this grieving card free to mail to whomever you choose. No purchase necessary; you need only use the cards to let three people you care for know that, no matter how long ago they lost someone dear to them, you acknowledge the love and the hurt that still lives deep in their big hearts now. Reply with your name & address and we’ll get the cards right out to you.
“By sending three little cards, you will not be stopping gun violence or fixing race relations or curing the mental health issues our nation faces, but you will be easing someone else’s pain. You’ll show them that they are loved by a good and caring person. And now, more than ever, we surely all need to see that our world is still full of good and caring people.”
The response has been heart-warmingly huge. Hundreds of Cardies requested the three free grieving cards – meaning hundreds more will feel the warmth, strength and comfort that will come with receiving them. From our small company to your big heart, thank you. Not that we should be surprised :) The simple fact that you’re Cardies tells us that you are good people who do nice things, but so many of you also went out of your way to share the beautiful reasons you will be sending the cards! Here’s a sampling:
From Oregon: “Not only do I grieve for my country and the families of the shooters, I have also recently lost two friends.”
Arizona: “Your email just made me cry — in a good way. I am only too happy to assist in passing along exactly how I feel, but could never articulate.”
Montana: “A woman I do not know lost her only child, a 16-year-old daughter, last year in a car accident. I now send her cards weekly as I also raised my daughter alone and to lose her would have been unthinkable.”
Pennsylvania: “I lost two nephews to unfortunate accidents; this card will say to their mothers what I can’t say in person.”
Illinois: “I love this card and I will keep one for myself as I will always grieve for my sweet daughter gone 6 1/2 years now.”
And just as we were about to send you this, we heard from Ann John in South Carolina: “I work at the SC Senate and, last June, one of our dearest senators was killed in the Charleston church shooting. Knowing how overwhelming the attention received at the time of a death is — and then how lonely it feels just following the funeral service when everyone returns to their life’s routine and you wake up to your brand new world where your life will never be the same — I waited until Senator Pinckney’s birthday last July 30th to send one of your cards to his wife and two daughters. I received the grieving cards today and, holding them, I knew that Mrs. Pinckney and her girls will be the recipients this July 30th.”
As we continue to pray for peace and calm in the world, thank you for letting us know you are doing the same.
founder & chief creative
Referenced Product
