Published September 30, 2024
BY LAITH RODRIGUEZ
Students of the Cards of Kindness club at Carmel High School are making sentimental notes for patients at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula in hopes of bringing some positivity to their stay.
Every month, members send cards to CHOMP, where they are distributed to patients by hospital staff. The club plans to do themed cards for the holiday season, such as Thanksgiving cards in November and Christmas cards in December.
“It’s more than just making a card,” says founding senior Sophie Morgan. “You’re doing a service. You have no idea what position a person is in. That little card that took you five minutes to make could have created a big impact on someone.”
Founders Nicole Tapson and Sophie Morgan make cards with other members of Cards of Kindness. (courtesy of LAITH RODRIGUEZ)
With a goal of spreading joy to long and short-term CHOMP patients who are potentially alone, Morgan and senior co-founder Nicole Tapson say that making cards for them could help make their time there more uplifting.
“We put jokes on them too sometimes to make them a little more lighthearted,” Tapson adds. “The hospital newsletter said they were quirky.”
Both club founders were inspired to create the club due to their parents being in the medical field, notably at the same hospital where they deliver cards. Growing up around those who were worried or scared during their stay at the hospital, the club leaders wanted to bring change.
Held in club adviser Bridget Randazzo’s room every Tuesday, members sit down during lunch and discuss their livelihood while making cards and eating. While currently a smaller club, Morgan and Tapson hope that the club’s Instagram and word of mouth will spread news of their club in order to find new members.
Cards of Kindness has been dropping the cards off themselves at CHOMP. While trying to distribute monthly, the girls hope that getting new members will make these trips more frequent.
The founders are in contact with the head of Volunteer Services at CHOMP, who collects cards and gets them distributed to patients. Cards of Kindness is confident that even though the hospital admits new patients every day, there will still be enough cards to go around, especially with new members.
