Yeah- Another Hospital Full of Kids to Cheer!

We are happy to announce another volunteer has stepped up and will be accepting your handmade cards for kids in another children's hospital! Angie Murphy (see her smiling face on the side of the blog) has graciously volunteered her time and energy to receive your boxes of cards, sort and deliver them to kids in the nearby Children's of Alabama children's hospital! Here is Angie's address that you can start sending cards to right away:

Angie Murphy
250 Gablewood Drive
Montevallo, AL 35115-8936

We have been contacted by several other potential volunteers who are now in the process of asking local children's hospitals if they would like to receive your handmade cards. Some hosptials have restrictions against accepting anything from outside volunteers, so we can never just assume a particular hospital will be a good fit for SAS4Kids. But most are thrilled to accept your cards to cheer the kids and their families. So we are hoping to be announcing some more new volunteers and hospitals soon.

If you have a box of Halloween/Fall cards ready to go, it would be OK to send to Angie or the other active addresses listed here (except Sybrina.) But if not, your next box can definitely include holiday and Christmas cards so every child in our hospitals receives one and is able to choose some for family and friends they are missing that time of your.

Thanks Angie for volunteering! And thanks to all of you who make and send in your cards for our kids!

Stamping smiles 4 our kids, Karen

Update on Current Needs - Can you Volunteer?

What we really need is more volunteers and more hospitals full of kids to cheer with all the wonderful cards we are receiving! Most of our locations have been overwhelmed with the generous card donations they have been receiving. We are assuming many former OWH cardmakers are looking for a new charitable organization to send their cards to. But to be honest, we do not have the need for the numbers of cards that were being sent for our servicemen and women overseas by the OWH organization.

**If you live close to a children's hospital (or two) and would be willing to accept boxes of cards sent to your address, label and count them and then bring to the hospital(s) every so often, please send me an email via the contact button on the side of the blog.**

In the meantime, Sybrina has enough cards to last into November. At that time, you could send some Christmas and Winter cards her way. Lee Ann is happy to accept any cards you can send to her address, and this time of year would be needing fall and winter holiday cards. Janet is set for awhile too, but would like Christmas cards early so she can get boxes sent to all her hospitals. If you can, Janet could use help with her mailing expenses- those boxes are quite expensive to mail.

Of course, none of us will discard or turn away any cards received. If the cards are received too late or too many are received for a particular holiday or category, we will save for the next year or box. Both I and NanaConnie have small hospitals and have enough cards for quite a while already at our locations.

Thank you all for your generous support. We hope to announce many more children's hospitals full of kids we can cheer because we sure do not want to turn any of your wonderful cards away.

Sincerely, Karen SAS4Kids

Welcome to Three New Hospitals, One New Volunteer and OWH-ers Everywhere!

We are very happy and excited to announce we have a new volunteer who will be collecting and distributing your cards to the children in Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, OH. Welcome Sybrina King! You can see her smiling face over there on the right and if you click on her picture, you will go to her new blog celebrating her new life in retirement. Here is the newest address you can send your handmade cards to:

SAS4Kids, c/o Sybrina King
11600 Huntington Way NW
Pickerington, OH 43147

We have more exciting news to announce! Janet Kay Bailey, our Illinois volunteer, has also added two more hospitals full of special kids who will receive your cards. The new facilities are Clearbrook in Arlington Heights, IL. and Streamwood Behavorial Healthcare System in Streamwood, IL. Janet and her family have a close connection to both of these facilities and your cards will help cheer kids with special needs in both of these facilities. How great is that?

Here is a reminder of Janet's address:

SAS4Kids c/o Janet Kay Bailey
11722 Parkway Drive Apt 6
Roscoe, IL 61073

I also wanted to extend a special welcome to all the card makers who have contacted us after Operation Write Home announced they were closing down. We are happy you have found us and our kids are going to love receiving your donated cards!

Can't believe summer is almost over! It is time to start making fall and winter holiday cards so all the kids in the 15 hospitals we now serve will receive one of each, and can also pick out some to send to special people they are missing on those holidays. We can always use thank you cards and some birthday cards and any day cheerful cards as well.

Thanks to all of you for your handmade cards and support.

Sending smiles 4 our kids, Karen

Two More Hospitals Full of Kids to Send a Smile To!

Send a Smile 4 Kids is growing again! I am very happy to announce that we have a new volunteer and two new children's hospitals in Florida to send your cards to! LeeAnn McKinney is now accepting cards for the children who are inpatient in Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, Hollywood, FL and Golisano Children's Hospital of SW Florida, Fort Myers, Fl.

That brings the total number of hospitals we serve to 14!

We are grateful to LeeAnn for volunteering to accept your cards and distribute them to these two new hospitals. Both hospitals are affiliated with Ronald McDonald Houses so the children's families can stay close by and may use the cards we send too.

Here is the new address to send your cards to:

LeeAnn McKinney
128 Taft Blvd.
Clewiston, FL 33440

Currently, please send most of your cards to LeeAnn's address to give her a great start, or to Janet's address in Illinois. The other locations have enough cards for the time being. It is never too early to start making fall and winter holiday cards so that all the children in all the hospitals will receive one and also be able to pick out some to give or send to family and friends they are missing if inpatient on those holidays. All locations will have a need for holiday cards.

**Please include your name and email address in your boxes of cards so any of the volunteers who receive them can email our thanks and acknowledgement of the receipt of your box.**

Thanks to LeeAnn for volunteering and thank to all of you who send in your handmade cards to cheer the kids in the 14 hospitals we now serve!

Stamping smiles 4 Kids, Karen