Creative Reuse—Spring 2001

A Card From Every Occasion

Please note: As of October 2005, St. Jude's has been overwhelmed with cards and asks that you not send cards to them. This article is being maintained to describe St. Jude's activities, as well as provide information on other alternatives for used greeting cards.

Have you ever wondered what to do with the numerous greeting cards you receive from birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, etc.? More than likely, at one point you've thought that there must be a better alternative than simply throwing the cards away and having them end up in a landfill. 

Fortunately, there is great news for this dilemma. Instead of disposing of all those cards after one use, they can bring cheer in another reused form. One organization that accepts used greeting cards for reuse is the nonprofit St. Jude's Ranch for Children. 

The ranch originated in 1967 in Boulder City, Nevada, the realization of a dream by Father Jack Adam. Named after the patron saint of hopeless causes and impossible situations, St. Jude's is now home to neglected, abandoned, and abused children of all races and faiths. St. Jude's is a nonprofit, non-sectarian, fiscally responsible community that strives to prevent child abuse and welfare dependency. 

St. Jude's houses 54 children between the ages of 5 and 18, who have suffered from abuse, abandonment, or neglect. At St. Jude's, children live in cottages in groups of about six or eight with a pair of "teaching cottage parents." When possible, the children attend public schools. Those who have been too traumatized to do so attend an on-campus Homebound School. St. Jude's campuses are located in Boulder City, Nevada; Bulverde, Texas; and New Braunfels, Texas. The organization's goal is to provide "normal" lives for the children and allow them to reach their full potential. 

St. Jude's consists of 40 acres and is approximately 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas. Since its inception, many actors and Las Vegas performers have become ardent supporters of the Ranch. Frank Sinatra, Shecky Greene, the late Bobby Darin, Ed McMahon, and Jason Priestly are several such advocates. 

The Recycled Card Program originated more than 30 years ago, when St. Jude's conceived the idea to turn the previous year's Christmas cards into "new" cards to give to their donors as a way of showing appreciation. The recipients of the reused cards were so delighted with their special "thank you" cards, they asked for the children of St. Jude's to sell them their unique cards. This is how the St. Jude's Recycled Card Program started. 

The program has since expanded to using all-occasion greeting cards. Used greeting card fronts, from all seasons and events, come from around the world. The children precision-cut the front of the cards, then attach them to pre-printed card stock, with laser-printed messages on the inside. For each acceptable card they make, the children receive fifteen cents, which is distributed between their savings and college fund, money for group outings,  and spending money. 

The children can accommodate special orders for all occasions. Angel and teddy bear cards are the most commonly requested cards. Custom orders are also available, complete with special printing. 

In 1999, Ford Motor Company collected more than 500,000 used greeting cards (over 100,000 more than the previous year) to contribute to St. Jude's. Volunteers at Ford collected cards from employees worldwide, as well as from visitors who attended the Ford Motor Company display at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The collection team from St. Jude's at the Auto Show consisted of six children, their adult chaperons, and Father Cantrell, St. Jude's executive director. Ford recently finished a four-year $200,000 Challenge Grant to assist St. Jude's to "expand nationally and build additional campuses." 

Andy Acho, Ford's Director of Environmental Outreach and Strategy said the Recycled Card Program "is not only helping Mother Nature, but the children from St. Jude's as well. It instills a work ethic, and the children derive self-esteem by seeing how they can turn throwaways into something society values."

Private donations and fundraisers are the primary source of funding for St. Jude's efforts. Volunteers are always welcome to assist in every aspect of St. Jude's operation. 

There are many other alternatives to reusing old greeting cards. The Recycling Council of Ontario suggests creating your own cards or invitations by reusing old ones or by mounting a special picture onto recycled or reused paper. The Council also recommends making or selecting cards that can be framed as a lasting keepsake.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Web site includes some ideas for using old greeting cards. For example, use Christmas cards to make Christmas gift tags, party decorations, and paper chains to decorate your home; make a bookmark or small, attractive gift box; cover old cards with new pictures or photographs to make individualized birthday and greeting cards; reuse an especially nice or humorous card by sending it back and forth to different people; give cards to schools, daycare centers, or nonprofit organizations such as Brownies. 

The Web site "101 Uses for your Old Shoes 'n Other Stuff: A Money Saving Guide to Reusing, Repairing and Renting Goods in the Lower Mainland" provides instructions on how to make gift boxes from used greeting cards.

Another idea on how to turn old greeting cards into new ones is to cut out the front part of old greeting cards, trim them with pinking scissors, and paste them onto sturdy pieces of paper. In addition, you can cut out the graphics from greeting cards that aren’t reusable to decorate your packages by gluing them down to cover the old messages.

For cards you don’t plan to save, cut off the front of the card that has the picture and reuse the front as "postcard style" greeting cards by gluing a piece of colored paper on the back and writing your holiday greeting there.

When sending greeting cards, write your message on a post-it note placed into the card instead of on the card itself. This allows the similar reuse of the card by its recipient. The County of Simcoe in Canada offers an additional idea: write greeting cards messages in pencil so they can be easily reused.

Encompass Magazine suggests reusing old cards by giving them back to the sender with an updated message and to continue this until the card is completely filled up.

If you have to buy a brand new card, Judy Soule’s NATURECARDS provide an opportunity for reuse, as the internal writing paper can be replaced and the cover reused. Each card, a unique handcraft by Judy, incorporates "naturally occurring" leaves, flowers, twigs, etc. Proceeds from the cards go to Kingston General Hospital, where Judy was treated for a life-threatening brain injury.

For ordering information:

E-mail: NATURECARDS@AOL.COM
Web site: hometown.aol.com/naturecards/page1.html 

For more reuse resources, visit www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Reuse/.

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Last updated: February 27, 2008