Yeah, i say go ahead and email them and see what they say! This is a cool site. way to go!! now we'd have something for kids and for elderly people. wide range of folks! very nice.

im trying to find stuff on addicts/ recovering addicts and homeless people- but those might be harder to come by than elderly and kids. i'll still look though. i think it'd be cool to have a variety of things to pick from. what do you guys think??

great!! i'll email them right now then

awesome! let us know what they say. and yeah, i agree. i think it's cool to be able to write a bunch of different people for various reasons. good thinking! i think it will be hard to find something..but maybe we can. if i remember, i'll try and look tomorrow some too.

ok! i just emailed them, hopefully we'll hear back for more information soon!

great lauren!!! this is coming together so well!!! we'll have a ton of information ready for when the newsletter gets set up im so excited!!!

i love this idea.

taylor: yay! this is exciting. i need to try and send some other stuff in for the newsletter..looks like they don't have much at the moment.

hi guys!

ok- please excuse this obnoxiously gigantic post lol. but this is all the information that the people sent me back for the 'birthday cards for the elderly' thing.

this is what i read from the first woman who sent me information:

Dear Friends,
Thank you for your volunteer interest in DOROT's Birthday Card Program. DOROT is a non-profit agency that mobilizes volunteers to help the elderly. DOROT provides varied populations of seniors with services ranging from food and housing to arts and education, and helps them live independently at home for as long as possible. Our Birthday Card Program helps bring joy and celebration to some of our frailest and most isolated seniors.

Each month, DOROT sends over 200 birthday cards to DOROT seniors. Each card is designed and created by volunteers, 4 years and older, and then personalized by one of our wonderful elderly volunteers who is over 90 years old. In addition, students ages 12-18, volunteer to deliver a birthday cake with the handmade card and gift. We match high school students with younger students for the birthday visit. These volunteers become part of DOROT’s Birthday Corps.

Making a birthday card or gift for the elderly is a quick, simple, yet meaningful project that you can do at home or in a group with your family, your friends, your students or your co-workers. For most of our DOROT seniors, this is often the only recognition that they receive on their birthdays. Your cards or gifts are simple gestures that reassure our seniors that they have not been forgotten.

and here is a little bit more information:

The Facts:
• We send out over 200 cards a month to isolated and frail seniors.
• Our cards are created by people of all ages, from 4-90!

How You Can Help:
• Break out those markers, that big pad of construction paper; grab a bag of googly eyes, florescent feathers, funny pom-poms and start gluing!
• Make cards with friends, students, co-workers or family members!
• It is a quick and simple project that is often the only recognition that these elders receive on their birthdays.

Please help us reassure our seniors that they have not been forgotten!

Guidelines:
BIRTHDAY CARDS

1. Size: 9” X 12” piece of construction paper or card stock. Fold the paper in half. The card can be held horizontally or vertically. The envelopes for the birthday cards are 8.7” wide and 6” high.

2. Colored stock (with the exception of black) can be used, but the inside should be white, as it is easier for an older person to read. Clarity and contrast is important for elders with impaired vision.

3. Art work can be on the front of the card with just a simple “Happy Birthday”.

4. Please write in print. As people get older, many experience some changes in their vision. Please make a conscious effort to write in large block print.

5. Inside the card, share some simple information about yourself. For example, write about your hobbies, sports, pets, favorite activities during your free time, what you want to be when they grow up, etc. You can also write a simple poem or “Happy Birthday” inside the card. This makes the handmade card a very personal and thoughtful gift for the older person to receive.

6. On the back of the card, please write or stamp the card with the card-maker’s first name and age.

7. Suggested Craft Materials: Colored paper, stickers, watercolors, puff paint, neon-paint, fluff balls,foam craft, feathers, ribbons, colored tissue paper, buttons, pipe cleaners and of course, colored markers. Please DO NOT use glitter or sequences, they easily fall off.

what do you guys think??? i think we could add it along with Lauren's children's card idea, and if we could find one more thing (or not) i think we'd have a great start for the community service thing- plus if it was included in the newsletter- so many people would see it and hopefully participate in it too ok, i'm sorry this was so long!!!

Sounds great. I'm a bit confused. Is the card something you have to print off or what? lol

but it sounds awesome! i like how we have all kinds of people to write. everyone likes a nice card here and there!!

i meant the card they said to put on the back..not the actual one we make..ahha

ok- i read a little deeper in some other things they sent and this might answer your question lauren- because i was a little confused about that too

"On the back of the card: Please write or stamp the card with the name name of the organization sponsoring the card making (camp, school, youth organization, etc.). DOROT seniors often write thank you notes and we want to be able to forward these notes to you."

So probably we'd write something like "Panic at the Disco- Online Book Club" or something like that. And then if a thank you card was sent, we'd need some sort of stable address where they could all be sent to- and then that person could send out the thank you cards from there.

Oh- also- if people are interested in this and stuff- and when we start the newsletter and really get into this stuff- when you send a card, you need to include a special "volunteer form" along with the card- which you can print out- very easy, nothing hard. it sounds a lot more complicated than it really is.

make a card, put "panic at the disco online book club" on the back of the card, fill out the volunteer form and include it with the card when you send it off

doesn't sound too bad. i'll have to check out the volunteer form. not too sure what that's even about..haha

but yeah, putting the bookclub on it sounds cool, but i'm not really sure if we are allowed too. i know for the CWC they couldn't say it had anything to do with panic w/o panic's permission b/c it's using their name. i guess just ask sylvia about it. if we can't use that, then we can still just say 'bookclub' or something you know?

hmm, you're right. i didnt think of that. about the name thingy. i guess this might not work out after all!!

if you want me to lauren, pm me your email and i'll send you the stuff i have. the volunteer form is asking "how many cards did you make, how long did it take you" that sort of thing- and personally i wouldn't bother to fill out half of it, just to fill out things like 'how many cards did you make' that sort of thing.

taylor: okay, i'll p.m you it in just a second.

yeah, maybe we can find something that focuses on elderly people but is a little bit easier for everyone to do...but i mean, i still like the idea!

i'll keep looking.