With the holiday season right around the corner, now is the time to start dealing with Christmas cards: Who to send them to, who moved, where’s last year’s list?
These considerations sometimes make sending out holiday greetings more of a chore than a pleasure. But even the Scroogiest of Christmas-card senders can rekindle the holiday spirit by using cards that benefit charities and not-for-profit groups.
So many worthy causes, so little space. Without further ado, here’s a sampling of Chicago-area groups selling cards that will add some good karma to your glad tidings. (Prices listed are for the smallest quantity available and do not include shipping or imprinting costs.)
– Alzheimer’s Association offers three watercolor designs, created by people with Alzheimer’s disease, and 13 other traditional Christmas designs. A box of 25 sells from $19 to $26. Call: 708-933-2413.
– American Heart Association of Metropolitan Chicago’s card is an embossed white dove. A box of 25 cards is $25. Call: 312-346-4675.
– Blue Cap provides training and housing for people with developmental disabilities. The two designs offered, including a sponge print of a sleigh decorated with berries, were created by program participants. The price for 20 cards is $12.50. Call: 708-389-6578.
– Chicago Fund on Aging and Disability is offering two cards; one with a traditional holiday design, the other with a colorful, all-occasion painting done by Edna Schey, 86, an award-winning local artist. Proceeds from the card sales benefit the agency’s Meals on Wheels program. Cards are $2.50 each. Call: 312-744-2120.
– Chicago Lighthouse is the largest agency in the Midwest serving children and adults who are blind or visually impaired. Children at the Lighthouse used glitter, yarn, feathers and dried pasta as materials for the illustrations on these cards. Price is $20 for a box of 20. Call: 312-666-1331.
– Children’s Memorial Hospital benefits from the sale of nine cards, including a Hanukkah greeting, that were designed by patients at the pediatric hospital. Cards are $16.50 for 20 and are available at several area department stores. Call: 312-472-1512.
– Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has 12 traditional styles, starting at $22.75 for a package of 25. Call: 312-236-4491.
– Felines, Inc. is a no-kill shelter in Rogers Park for stray and unwanted cats. It also offers spaying and neutering services and an adoption program. The shelter’s card features a drawing of a wreath-wearing cat happily sitting beside a goldfish in a bowl. A box of 10 cards sells for $6. Call: 312-465-4132.
– Greater Chicago Food Depository, which distributes food to 550 pantries, shelters and soup kitchens, has a card featuring a woman holding a basket of flowers, created by artist Barbara Samanich. Cost is $15 for 10. Call: 312-247-3663.
– Hadley School for the Blind celebrates its 75th anniversary with a card based on a 1949 Pablo Picasso lithograph. The embossed white dove, circled in a red, gold and white border, includes a greeting in both Braille and conventional print. The Winnetka-based school prices its cards at $20 for 25. Call: 708-446-8111, ext. 249.
– Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy is the state’s only public residential school. Located in Aurora, the school, for gifted children grades 10 through 12, features a card designed by Juanita Garcia, 16, a junior at IMSA. A box of 20 cards is $15. Call: 708-907-5040.
– Lamb’s Farm, a community in Libertyville for mentally retarded children and adults, produces cards in its own silk-screen shop. One of its 14 cards is a snowman drawn by a Lamb’s Farm resident. The price is $7.50 for 10. Call: 1-800-525-2627.
– La Rabida Children’s Hospital in Chicago’s Jackson Park neighborhood provides care for children with chronic illnesses. It also has a program for abused and neglected children. This year, four traditionally designed cards are priced from $35 for a box of 25. Call: 312-363-6700 ext. 383.
– Lawrence Hall Youth Services offers eight designs crafted by abused, neglected or homeless children served by the residential community, located on Chicago’s North Side. The cards, printed at Lawrence Hall, are $15 for 25. Call: 312-769-3590.
– Leukemia Research Foundation Inc. offers eight traditional cards, starting at $16.75 for a box of 25. Call: 708-982-1480.
– Little City Foundation, a Palatine-based organization, is offering a collection of 12 different holiday cards drawn by children and adults with developmental challenges, such as mental retardation. Proceeds will benefit employment, recreational and housing opportunities. Cost for 25 cards is $18. Call: 708-358-5510, ext. 886.
– Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northern Illinois sells assorted cards with illustrations created by six children whose wishes have been granted by the foundation. The group fulfills the wishes of children who suffer from life-threatening illnesses. A box of 24 cards is $14.50. Call: 312-943-8710.
– MK Rainbow Therapy Dog Club devotes the proceeds of its Christmas card sales to its Special Dogs . . . Special Kids program. The program helps physically, mentally and emotionally disabled children through animal-assisted therapy and activities. Four black-and-white drawings are available. The price is $5 for a box of eight. Call: 312-283-1129.
– Open Hand Chicago is the only Chicago organization that delivers meals to men, women and children with HIV/AIDS. Local artist Riva Lehrer was enlisted to design its card, titled “Thaw,” which is an allegorical piece showing a child emerging from the snow. A box of 12 is $16. Call: 312-665-1000.
– People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has cards in six styles, including, new this year, a drawing by “Outlander” cartoonist Berke Breathed. Prices start at $3 for 12 cards. Call: 301-770-8978.
– Ronald McDonald House provides low-cost housing for families visiting hospitalized children. Four watercolor scenes by Pat Coffman-Huss are available. Proceeds go to three facilities in the Chicago area and a new Ronald McDonald House being built in Maywood. Cards are $25 for a box of 25. Call: 312-324-5437.
– Starlight Foundation, which grants wishes for hospitalized children, offers three designs, including one created by young artists sponsored by the Marwen Foundation, which works with underprivileged youths. Ten cards sell for $10. Call: 708-256-5811.
– UNICEF in 1949 was the first group to raise funds by selling greeting cards. The United Nations program now publishes a catalog listing more than 40 designs, some of which are crafted by children who have benefitted from the UN’s programs. Cards are priced from $7.50 for 10. Call: 1-312-670-2379.
– United Charities is selling a card featuring a dove in flight. Proceeds go to programs that assist victims of domestic violence. A box of 25 costs $15. Call: 312-986-4255.
– Women’s Architectural League, Chicago Chapter, offers a card with an Art Deco design detail from Chicago’s Carbon and Carbide Building, built in 1929 at 230 N. Michigan Ave. Proceeds go to six architecture scholarships at area colleges. The cards are $10 for a box of 10. Call: 708-386-7379.
– Wyler Children’s Hospital has three Christmas cards designed by patients. Cards are $11 for a box of 20. Call: 312-702-9200.
