Paying It Forward

We’re hoping much happiness has already spread your way this good, long weekend. Being it’s Labor Day, we’re thinking how grateful and proud we are at Cardthartic to have jobs making cards for you, and how gratifying it is to know that all those cards you send are lifting the spirit of the world. Our little Cardie community has been collectively sending more than double the number of cards over a year ago, so we thought, Let’s Pay it Forward! 

Our six new gift card designs are each available in values of $25, $50 and $100. For each gift card you purchase, we’ll meet you halfway (i.e., every $50 gift card you buy for someone will cost you only $25 today through this Wednesday, Sept 9). 

As recipients of these gift cards, we have in mind all the Cardies that might be among the more than 25 million fellow Americans now looking, waiting, wishing for work. While cards aren’t on the list of crucial physical needs, we all know how they can help meet important emotional ones like connection, expression and giving. By splitting the cost with you, we’re hoping you’ll be able to gift another Cardie who now may not be able to afford the simple pleasure that cards are.

If the gift cards you purchase are intended for your own future use, so be it; we just hope you’ll consider using some of your savings in a rewarding way. Like Cardie Bev Wise who, back in May, wrote to say, “I’ve sure been sending a lot of cards!” She went on to explain, “Because I’m working from home and not traveling for business or pleasure, I’m saving money on gas, haircuts and a bunch of other stuff, and I want to give back. So I sent the Phoenix card to my pet sitter with a big check because I know 80% of her work has gone away and she’s such a sweet woman. I’m giving the same card to my cleaning crew, with at least the amount of money I would have paid if they were still coming during this time. I know how blessed I am to be in a position to give, and we need our small business owners to get through this!”

Remember the recent Yay for Friends newsletter featuring the great writing of Cardie Judy Cortner? We sent her a $100 gift card as honorarium, and heard, “I felt so gifted that I decided to put the $100 I would be saving on cards in the little pouch I carry filled with gift certificates to local cafes. I give those out when the spirit moves me — it delights the recipients and promotes our local businesses, everyone wins. I thought, here Cardthartic has gifted me and I will pass the gift on when an opportunity presents itself.

“Last week, an opportunity presented itself in the form of a woman in front of me in the grocery checkout line. She was emptying her pockets and searching the recesses of her purse for money to cover the total due. Alas, she still came up $13.05 short. And there I was, able to say, ‘I will pay the difference.’ While reaching in my bag for my special gift pouch, it occurred to me that the $100 I’d find there would just cover the woman’s entire purchase. So cover it, I did.

“At first, the woman protested, put her hands to her heart and saying, ‘No, please, you don’t have to do this.’ And, she was in a state of good shock and stunned silence as the grocery clerk handed her all her money back. But outside the store, as I was getting into my car, she came up to me and, with her eyes welling with tears, said, ‘You have no idea.’ I told her, ‘Someone gifted me, which made it possible for me to gift you. It pleased me to do it.’ That experience elevated my spirit, Jodee, and I hope it does the same for you.”

It did indeed. Your turn, kind Cardies. Let’s spread a little happiness wherever you go.

Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative