In this season of cheer and charity, consider sending holiday cards sold by local, state and national charitable and nonprofit groups to help promote their organizations and raise funds for their work. Here is a sampling of what’s available:
The Alzheimer’s Association/Greater Illinois Chapter offers cards created by people with Alzheimer’s, as well as three cards with a corporate appeal. Cost: $25 for 25. Call: 847-933-2413 or visit www.alzheimers-illinois.org.
The American Cancer Society offers a variety of cards to fund research and prevention programs, including a card designed by singer Tony Bennett. Cost: $25 to $40 per box of 10. Call: 312-279-7375 or 800-227-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.
The American Humane Association offers 75 cards to help raise money to protect animals. Cost: Start at $22 for 25. Call: 800-556-5491 or visit www.holidaycardcenter.org/aha.
Arts of Life, a nonprofit art studio for developmentally disabled adults, offers nearly three dozen cards, all made by studio artists. Cost: $20 for 12. Call: 312-829-2787.
Barrington Friends of Home of the Sparrow’s card features a drawing by a child at the Sparrow shelter. Cost: $11 for 10. Call: 847-304-4980.
Bereaved Parents of the USA/Hinsdale Chapter, a support group of bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents, offers a card. Cost: $12 for 20. Call: 630-920-1201.
Canine Companions for Independence, a national nonprofit organization that breeds, trains and places highly skilled assistance dogs with people with disabilities other than blindness, offers a card. Cost: $15 for 10. Call: 847-816-7360 or email dfelkamp@caninecompanions.org.
The Cabrini-Green Tutoring Program Inc. offers five cards designed by students. Cost: $10 for 10. Call: 312-397-9119 or visit www.cabrinigreentutoring.org.
THE CENTER for Enriched Living, a life-enrichment and skill-development center for children and adults with developmental disabilities, sells five cards designed by people in the center’s fine-arts program. Cost: $25 for 15. Call: 866-948-7001 (toll-free) or 847-948-7001.
Central Baptist Family Services, a social service agency that provides foster care, day care, mental health services, family support and juvenile justice programs, offers two cards designed by children in agency programs. Cost: $20 for 10. Call: 312-949-5615 or visit www.cbfamilies.org.
The Children’s Brittle Bone Foundation and the OI Foundation offer cards created by children with osteogenesis imperfecta, which afflicts about 50,000 American children and adults. Cost: $29.50 for 25. Call: 301-947-0083 or email bonelink@oif.org.
Children’s Expressions of Children’s Memorial Hospital sells cards designed by patients or their siblings. Cost: $27.50 for 25. Call: 773-975-8614 or visit www.childrensexpressions.org.
Christopher House, which provides child care, youth development, parenting skills, education and counseling to low-income families and individuals, offers cards designed by a member of the Christopher House Art Club. Cost: $17.75 for 15 printed cards or $15 for 10 handmade cards. Call: 773-472-1083, ext. 3067 or visit www.christopherhouse.org.
Clearbrook, which provides services to developmentally disabled children and adults in the northwest suburbs, offers cards, with part of the proceeds benefiting residents who helped design them. Cost: $20 for 20. Call: 847-385-5025 or email ahill@clearbrook.org.
Community Counseling Centers of Chicago, a behavioral healthcare and social-service provider, offers five cards created by participants in the organization’s art-therapy program. Cost: $15 for five. Call: 773-765-0809 or email c4mbailey@aol.com.
The DuPage County Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is offering holiday note cards to benefit programs in DuPage County elementary and high schools. Cost: $5 for 12. Call: 630-369-6233.
Family Rescue’s card collection features four cards designed by children in the organization’s support services and anti-domestic violence programs. Cost: $10 for 10. Call: 773-375-1918.
The Foundation for Developmentally Disabled Children offers a card featuring a snowman drawn by an 11-year-old child with developmental disabilities. Proceeds benefit organizations that help disabled children in the Chicago area. Cost: $25 for 20. Call: 773-394-3202.
Fromm International offers beauty and hair-themed holiday cards to benefit Locks of Love, a nonprofit group that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children with long-term or permanent medical hair loss. Cost: $12.99 for 20. Call: 800-323-4252 or email scomber@frommonline.com.
The Gastro-Intestinal Research Foundation Women’s Board offers four cards featuring one line of complimentary imprinting, hand-addressing by volunteers and mailing services. Cost: $60 for 25. Call: 312-332-1371.
The Greater Chicago Food Depository’s card features a still-life painting of colorful fruit by Chicago artist Martha Jannotta. Tribute cards, which acknowledge a donation to the food depository in the recipient’s name, also are available. Cost: $17 for 10 ($5 each for tribute cards). Call: 773-247-3663, ext. 3054.
The Hadley School for the Blind is selling photo cards and a holiday card designed by a visually impaired child. Cost: $25 for 25. Call: 847-446-8111 or 800-323-4238.
HAVE Dreams, an organization that helps children with autism and their families, offers five cards done by children with autism. Cost: $10 for 10. Call: 847-384-0250.
Hephzibah Children’s Association, a home for abused and neglected children in Oak Park, offers cards to help fund the home. Cost: $15 for 10. Call: 708-386-8417. Sample cards are online at www.hephzibahhome.org.
Interfaith Housing Development Corp. of Chicago, which helps provide affordable housing, offers three holiday insert cards designed by children who live in a Chicago homeless shelter. Purchasers may make a donation in an amount they choose in another person’s honor and enclose the card with a personal greeting. Call: 312-850-9184.
Joni and Friends Chicago, the disability outreach of Joni Eareckson Tada, a local author, radio-show host, Christian speaker and advocate for people affected by disability, offers three Christmas cards that replicate her paintings. Cost: $10 for 15. Call: 708-771-0000 or email chicago@joniandfriends.org.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Greater Chicago Chapter offers holiday tribute cards. Volunteers will write and mail cards, with a message letting recipients know a donation in their honor has been made. Cost: $5 per card minimum donation. Call: 312-670-0313.
Kids in Distressed Situations Inc., a national retailers and manufacturers charity that helps children who are ill, living in poverty or victims of natural disasters, offers a card to benefit children in need. Cost: $20 for 20. Call: 773-755-2412 or email monika@hoodiemoo.com.
Lawrence Hall Youth Services offers cards designed by students in the studio-art program. Proceeds benefit child-welfare programs. Cost: $25 for 24. Call: 312-456-2488.
The Leukemia Research Foundation offers 12 cards. Cost: $34 to $46 for 25; price includes one line of personalization. Call: 708-599-5778.
Lincoln Park Zoo offers a card featuring two lion cubs that were born at the zoo earlier this year. Cost: $15 for 12. Call: 312-742-2265.
Little City Foundation sells a line of holiday cards created by participants in Little City’s studio-arts program. Little City provides services to children and adults with developmental disabilities. Cost: $24 for 25. Call: 847-358-9467 or visit www.littlecity.org.
The Lupus Foundation of Illinois offers a card to aid efforts to support people with lupus and educate the public about the disease. The card was designed by Conor McClowry, an artist who died of lupus in January. Cost: $20 for 20. Call: 312-542-0002.
Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northern Illinois, which helps make wishes come true for children with life-threatening illnesses, offers two tribute cards. Cost: $20 each (minimum order 10 cards). Call: 312-943-8956.
Marwen offers 20 cards created by students in the organization’s design program. Marwen provides visual-arts education, college planning and career-development services to Chicago youngsters in grades 6 to 12. Cost: $15 for 15. Call: 312-944-2418, ext. 210.
McHenry County Adult Program, a day services learning program for young adults with severe or profound developmental disabilities, offers cards, hand-stenciled by program participants. Cost: $5 for four. Call: 815-773-4351.
Ministry of the Arts, sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of LaGrange, offers cards and postcards to support its education, social service, healthcare, pastoral ministry and arts programs. Cost: $8 for 8 cards; $8.50 for 12. Call: 708-482-5056 or visit www.ministryofthearts.org.
Misericordia Heart of Mercy, which provides services to people with mental or physical disabilities, offers 12 cards designed and painted by Misericordia residents with help from staff. Cost: $8.50 for 10. Call: 773-273-4178 or visit www.misericordia.com.
National Childhood Cancer Foundation’s cards help fund research on childhood cancers. Cost: $1 for one. Call: 800-458-6223 or visit www.conquerkidscancer.org.
National Kidney Foundation of Illinois sells a variety of cards to fund efforts to treat and cure kidney-related illnesses. Cost: $31 to $43.50 for 25. Call: 312-321-1500, ext. 239.
North Shore Chapter of Hadassah, a supporter of the Hadassah Medical Organization, Hadassah International and the Hadassah College of Technology, offers Hanukkah cards. Cost: $2.50 each or $10 for five. Call: 847-433-6350.
North Shore Senior Center in Northbrook sells cards created by participants in the center’s House of Welcome Adult Day Services program. Cost: $10 for 12. Call: 847-784-6030.
The One Step at a Time Camp, a camp for children with leukemia and other cancers, is selling handmade cards by Evanston artist Joyce Koenig. Cost: $2 each. Call: 847-328-1654.
Open Hand Chicago, which provides various services to more than 2,400 Chicago-area people affected by HIV or AIDS, is offering a card. Cost: $15 for 10. Call: 773-665-1000.
Park Lawn, an Oak Lawn-based organization for people with developmental disabilities, offers cards designed by participants in its art-therapy program. Cost: $15 for 12. Call: 708-425-7377, ext. 237.
The Partners in Education Tutoring Program of Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago sells cards to pay for tutoring programs, supplies and transportation for students. Cost: $14 for 12, by mail; $12 for 12, if purchased at the church or various retail outlets. Call: 312-787-2729, ext. 238, or visit www.fourthchurch.org.
The Ray Graham Association for People with Disabilities, which provides services to disabled people and their families in Cook and DuPage Counties, sells cards to help finance association programs. Cost: 16 cards for $24. Call: 630-993-0155, ext. 316.
St. Joseph’s Carondelet Child Center, Chicago’s oldest child welfare agency, offers four cards created by some of the 220 children in its programs. Cost: $12 for 12. Call: 773-624-7443 or email jwhite@stjccc.org.
Save the Dunes Council, which works to expand and protect the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, sells cards to help finance its activities. Cost: $10 for 12. Call: 219-872-5778.
Shriners Hospitals for Children in Chicago offers several cards designed by the hospital’s graphic artists and patients. Proceeds help finance hospital services, including orthopedic care, plastic surgery, burn care and spinal cord injury therapy to children under the age of 18. Cost: 70 cents a card. Call: 773-385-5420 or email ewachspress@shrinenet.org.
Starlight Children’s Foundation offers a variety of star- and child-themed cards. Starlight provides programs and services to enrich the lives of seriously ill children and their families. Cost: $13.95 for 10. Call: 312-251-7827 or visit www.starlightmidwest.org.
The Stepping Stone Foundation card features a teddy bear. Proceeds provide teddy bears to seriously ill or developmentally challenged children. Cost: $10 for 10. Call: 312-642-8017.
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation offers two cards and two card-purchase programs. Proceeds help fund breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment. Cost: $33.75 for 25. Tribute cards also are available for a minimum donation of $5 a card. Call: 800-889-3665 or visit www.komen.org.
UNICEF, an international organization devoted to helping children in undeveloped nations, offers a catalog of cards. Cost: Start at $10 for 10. Call: 800-553-1200.
University of Chicago Children’s Hospital offers cards to help pay for toys and educational materials and support services for patients and their families. Cost: $15 for 20. Call: 773-702-6481 or visit www.uchospitals.edu/news/holidaycards02.html.
The Victor C. Neumann Association in Chicago provides services to adults with disabilities and children who have been sexually abused. Cost: $15 for 10. Call: 773-506-3041.
The Women’s Association of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra offers a card designed by Italian artist Anna Caser with a brief quote from Music Director Daniel Barenboim. Cost: $33 for 20. Call: 312-294-3170.
The Women’s Auxiliary of Lake Forest Hospital offers two cards, a scene card of Lake Forest’s historic market and a border card for photographs. Cost: $38 for 25. Call: 847-234-0945.
Young Masters Studio in Crown Point, Ind., offers cards to benefit several Chicago-based charities, including Carole Robertson Center for Learning, Chicago Dance Medium, Jobs for Youth Chicago and Uhlich Children’s Home. Cost: $49 for 25. Call: 888-848-5437 or visit www.youngmastersstudio.org.
The Young Professionals Organization of Parkways Foundation, the nonprofit partner of the Chicago Park District, sells holiday cards with photographs from “The City in a Garden: A Photographic History of Chicago’s Parks,” the Chicago Park District’s recently published book. Cost: $21 for 18. Call: 312-742-4808.
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For a list of more organizations offering holiday cards see http://bancodeprofissionais.com/home&garden.
