Britain’s largest publishers, UK Greetings and Hallmark supported Thinking of You Week with a host of activities across the week.
Kicking off with a greeting card event at the Pilgrims’ Friends residential home in Mirfield, a UKG team brought a variety of cards and spent time with the residents, talking to them about who they would like to send cards to, prompting them to remember people they have perhaps lost touch with or needed to congratulate on something. And were also on hand to help them select the cards and write the messages if needed.
On September 25 members of the team (including some calligraphers) spent time undertaking some poignant card writing themselves, at Martin House Children’s Hospice, a Yorkshire-based charity that UKG supports.
“They helped to writing some heartfelt thank you cards to the many volunteers who help the charity a well as those who have donated to the worthy cause, many due to personal connections,” explained Louise Makin, of UKG. “The hospice is a big believer in the power of sending greeting cards and insists that the message is well thought through and the envelope is hand written. It feels such a privilege to be able to help in this way,” she added.
At a more joyful event members of the UKG team went into Reinwood Junior School, in Huddersfield, to help facilitate a greeting card writing session, with the children writing positive messages to each other.
UKG also ran Thinking of You Week activities within its offices with displays of cards, for which staff to write and post, with UKG picking up the price of the postage.
Meanwhile Hallmark encouraged everyone to get involved by sending a card to deliver a smile with free cards for customers, staff and schoolchildren.
Hallmark’s research shows that two-thirds of people think a handwritten message is much more thoughtful than a text message, email or social media post as it feels far more special – and a sentimental 32 per cent of people polled even admitted to keeping greetings cards given to them by a best friend, with the oldest card being an average of almost 11 years old.
Tamsyn Johnston-Hughes, Hallmark UK marketing manager, said: “We often hold on to keepsakes of all kinds to mark memorable times in our lives. “Cards carry emotion and capture a moment in time, so can almost act as a type of diary of your lives events, which is why so many of us keep hold of them, so it does makes sense that we see them as being woven into the fibres of friendship in many cases.”
Throughout the week, selected Hallmark stores offered a free card to every customer visiting the store with a loyalty card, or picking up a loyalty card for the first time. The free cards included varied captions such as Thinking of You, Just To Say and Hello, encouraging people to get involved by sending a card to friends, colleagues, neighbours or loved ones “just because”.
Hallmark hosted a Card Challenge at its Dawson Lane Head Office where all Hallmark employees received a free card each day throughout the week to send and surprise someone they care about, and encouraged colleagues based around the country to do the same.
Hallmark also worked with St Johns Primary School near them in Bradford by donating cards to encourage pupils to get involved by sending a card to someone they care about throughout the week.
www.hallmark.co.uk/thinkingofyou/.
Earlier versions of these stories appeared in Progressive Greetings and Greetings Today magazines.
