Making cards for hospitalized kids is a rewarding way to introduce your children to community service. Children as young as three or four can start to learn about empathy through good deeds such as card making for those less fortunate.
Children in hospitals often feel lonely and afraid. They have to cope with missing out on the experiences that most children take for granted such as school, sports and parties. A handmade card can help with these challenges by brightening the child’s day and making them feel special. Cards for Hospitalized Kids is one of the organizations that distributes handmade cards to these children.
What Should Your Card Say?
Cards for Hospitalized Kids asks you not to write “Get well”, “Feel Better” or other illness related comments. They prefer to focus on the child as a whole, rather than their illness. Include an uplifting message in your card. Here are some of their recommendations:
- Stay strong
- You are awesome
- Never forget how amazing YOU are
- You rock
- I hope you have a great day today
- You shine brighter than the sun
- You inspire me
- Be Brave
- I believe in YOU
Take a look at their other guidelines before making your cards for hospitalized kids.
Need some ideas?
Just give the kids some paper, markers, scissors and glue and they will usually jump right in and start creating. But we’ve pulled together a couple of free printables to give your kids some pieces to work with.
FreeKidsCrafts.com has these cute animal pun cards that little kids will love. They give you four different printable cards:
- You are turtlely awesome!
- You’re so tweet!
- Have a purr-fect day!
- You are paw-some!
You can choose from a black and white version for the kids to color or print the colored images to cut and paste onto the cards.
More Fun Ideas
If your kids like the idea of sending a chuckle with their cards we also have printables for making silly joke cards. This is another print, cut and paste craft, but there’s plenty of ways to customize and make the cards extra special.
These printables include three jokes the kids can use or they can use the empty speech bubbles and their own favorite jokes.
We do recommend adding words of encouragement to the cards so the hospitalized children know that the card is sent with love.
It’s not just kids who will enjoy these cards. Don’t forget about our seniors. Especially those in nursing homes, assisted living and hospitals . Spread the joy to everyone.
Youth Squad® has a free service learning program including projects especially designed for preschoolers. Children have the opportunity to earn patches including this Happiness Helper patch by making cards to donate.
MakingFriends.com has many different patch programs® for community service including their Cards for Kids program. Kids can complete the requirements and earn this patch.
What a great idea! We sometimes forget how much the little things mean to even the youngest of us.
Making cards is simple yet meaningful way to make great impact on both to a hospitalized kid and their family.It is a best way to spreads hope, joy & magic to hospitalized kids across America through uplifting, handmade cards.
This is such a great idea. The kids love making cards and to be able to give them to other kids in the hospital is so rewarding.