Cards With A Purpose

By Nancy K. Crevier

If members of the Newtown Senior Center have any say in it, mail call for soldiers stationed overseas will not be a lonely time. Every Tuesday, at least a half-dozen members gather at the center for 2½ hours or more to create one-of-a-kind cards that correlate to the season or upcoming holiday. Each month, more than 100 cards are then mailed to soldiers in each branch of the armed forces, selected through AnySoldier.com.

This month the group has been making valentines to send to the soldiers. Using construction paper, buttons, string, embossing stamps, hole punches, wallpaper, ribbons, doilies, and a variety of other materials, the quality of the finished cards reflects the pride that goes into making each one. Inside, soldiers will find a poem written by Senior Center Director Marilyn Place or one of the members of the center. They may read these words that were written by the late Goody Johannsen, one of the first members to become involved with making cards for the service people overseas: “Roses are red, Violets are blue, All of us citizens Are thinking of you! Roses are red, Violets are blue, You can be sure We’ll never forget you.”

“Goodie sort of spearheaded the whole valentines idea for our servicemen and women several years ago. She passed away last year, but we continue to use her poem. We miss her, and it is almost a tribute to her, too, when we do these valentines,” said Ms Place.

Another favorite valentine wish that the members like to use inside of the cards is, “We are beholden beyond words. We give our thanks. We send our love.”

The messages sent are meant to be uplifting and encouraging, said member Phyllis Fives.

“We try to put in something that will make them enjoy it, not to make them homesick,” she said.

Rather than signing an individual name to the cards, the seniors instead stamp the back with the Newtown Senior Center address.

“We have received thank you notes from service people over the years, and that’s when it really strikes you that someone truly did get one of these cards. It makes it all so worthwhile,” said Ms Place.

The seniors are never at a loss for the next session of card making. Even before the final valentine is packaged and sent off, they will be busy gathering materials and ideas for the next holiday: St Patrick’s Day.