To the Editor:

For the past 10 years, around New Year’s Day, my husband and I would find ourselves packing away the Christmas decorations and with them, the cards we received that year from friends and family. We couldn’t bring ourselves to throw them out and, within those years, we had filled a moving box with holiday cards.

It was to the point that we either had to find another use for them or throw them out. Around that same time, we were looking to get our two young daughters involved in a charitable activity so we could give back to our community as a family.

My coworker (the “JB” in JB’s Holiday Card Collection) recommended that we repurpose our cache of old cards into new cards for nursing-home residents. And thus, JB’s Holiday Card Collection was born.

Around this time each year, we partner with businesses and community organizations to host boxes for the community to recycle holiday cards. Each card is then personalized by students at elementary schools with drawings and messages. This year, we were fortunate enough to partner with Altamont and Voorheesville elementary schools.

We are truly appreciative of the commitment these schools have to this effort and would like to thank the students, administrators, teachers, and support staff who make each card unique and special.

It’s important that children are active members in their community and recognize the value of “giving back” especially during the holiday season. Now, more than ever, we are reminded that we have to do our part for the environment and we hope that, in some small way, we can bring a smile to others while giving holiday cards a second life.

This year, with the help of our drop-spot partners— Altamont Village Hall, One Love Preschool, Guilderland Public Library, and Voorheesville Elementary School — the elementary schools that decorate the cards, and community members that recycle their cards, we are able to distribute over 800 cards to local nursing homes this holiday season!

Seeing the joy (and at times, laughter) these cards bring to nursing homes residents reminds us that the holiday season is truly about the happiness we bring to others. Thank you to everyone that makes this possible. 

Happy Holidays!

The Fortran Family 

JB’s Holiday Card Collection

Altamont

Editor’s note: See editorial on page 2.