'Snail Mail' Project Aims at Christmas and Beyond

Cathy Donaldson spread out card-making materials in Canton Public Library's Purple Room on Saturday and didn't have to wait long for help in making greeting cards.

Donaldson, a long-time Canton resident who currently lives in Plymouth, founded four years ago as a way to cheer up people who living in nursing homes or are mostly homebound. This time of year, she's in a hurry to get as many holiday cards out as possible. Many of the cards made on Saturday featured Christmas trees and other iconic images. Other cards, however, emphasized the winter season, with such embellishments as blue foam snowflakes that volunteers could glue to the cards.

Some of Donaldson's friends helped on Saturday -- Sue Kalis, Joan Mountford and Kathy Edwards often spend time making and signing greeting cards that Donaldson delivers to area nursing homes to be distributed or to Meals on Wheels volunteers, who include the cards with food deliveries.

Each card carries a cheery greeting and the idea that the recipient is remembered, even though the volunteers never know who will get the cards.

"It's a lot of fun to do," Edwards said. "It's pretty nice to think you're making people happy."

Bridgett Clark of Canton brought her two children, Bryce, 7, and Mackenzie, 5, into the library's Purple Room, which is reserved for crafting and other types of meetings. She said the family had come to the library for books but after seeing a handwritten sign about the project, decided to pitch in.

The same was true for Poornima Kondahgunta and her children, Nikhil and Shivani, all of Canton.

Donaldson said when she delivers the cards to area nursing homes, she often hears stories of residents who would otherwise not have any mail at all. She started Snail Mail for Seniors while visiting one of her family members and found that other nursing home residents not only had no visitors, they did not even receive cards.

Caroline Mossing, a University of Michigan library science student working at Canton's library as part of her studies, was more than impressed with the effort.

"It's awesome," she said. "I'm thinking when I go visit my family for the holidays, this is someitng I'll have my younger cousins do and I'll bring the cards back to (Donaldson)."