Last week, we had a special delivery from Food & Friends supporter Patrick Kaufmann: 800 Valentine’s Day cards! For the second year in a row, Patrick collected Valentine’s Day cards from local elementary and middle school students for Food & Friends to include in our medically tailored meal and grocery deliveries. Patrick’s outreach to D.C. area students led to an additional 2,200 cards being delivered to sick neighbors in medical centers throughout the region. Food & Friends had a chance to interview Patrick about his inspiring project.
How did you get the idea to do this Valentine’s Day Card project?
A couple of years ago, my dad and I were volunteering for Food & Friends, making food. We had a lot of fun. We came back the next year before Valentine’s Day, and we were creating some cards for the clients and eating lunch, and that is where the idea came from to do a bigger project.
How many cards did you do, not just the 800 cards you did for Food & Friends, but overall?
We did about 3,000 cards!
How did you bring the whole community together to do this? That is a lot of cards, and we know you had to have some help.
Yes! My dad helped me find a software program called SendGrid. We used that to send personalized emails to all the schools. The emails had all the information and a form to complete if they wanted to sign up. It asked the schools how many cards they wanted, and gave a deadline for when they needed to send them back. All the cards arrived yesterday, and here we are.
What made you want to pick Food & Friends to be the recipient of this amazing act of caring generosity?
Volunteering here was fun. My friends came here along with me, and so did my parents, and it was a great experience making the food.
Tell us about your school and some of the other schools that supported this?
Our school, the Washington International School was the first to participate last year. This year, we expanded to include Takoma Park Elementary School, Stone Ridge, Chevy Chase ES, Janney ES, Hearst ES, Holy Trinity, Green Acres, Shining Stars Montessori, Maret, I Dream Public Charter School, Annunciation School, Georgetown Day School, and Evergreen Montessori School.
What is next for you, what is on the horizon?
Next year, we are going to continue to expand awareness and get more schools involved in the project.
Do you have anything else to share?
Thanks to everyone!
Patrick inspired more than 3000 of his peers to make Valentine’s Day cards. 800 of those cards were delivered to the seriously ill neighbors we serve, along with medically tailored meals and groceries, on the week leading up to and on the holiday. The remaining cards were delivered to hospitals and medical centers throughout the region.
The Kyle Todd Public Service Foundation and the Worldwide Small Change Foundation gave the Kaufmann family funding for the envelopes and FedEx costs. They also covered the out-of-pocket expenses for materials and envelope design.
Thank you for your initiative and compassion, Patrick! Bravo.
Take a look at just a few of the beautiful cards:
