Operation Special Delivery
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Photos by Jody Florman Photography
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SedonaKind members just delivered over 250 handmade cards with heartfelt thanks to member of our community. This tells you how the event came to be and how much it meant to all those involved. But before we begin, a little history. In the 1700's, it became quite popular to send "mash notes". They were simply notes sent to someone you admired, to tell them how much they meant to you . They had nothing to do with Valentine's Day, just appreciation for all the unsung heroes that make all our lives so special.
In 2014, Constance Loef, a member of Sedona Women, decided to gather a small group to send our version of mash notes, to special people we felt needed to hear an unexpected "thank you". And as Constance reminded us all, "...kindness is like a boomerang- it just keeps coming back to you". We hand made 75 cards, wrote personal notes in each one, and hand delivered them. They went to neighbors, grocery clerks, postal workers, teachers, folks at Sedona Recycles, SIFF, and Chamber Music, just to name a few. People who, in large and small ways, make such a difference in all our lives. The response was overwhelming. One woman said " I just sat down and cried when I read my card- no one had ever said thank you before." And the joy that they felt receiving those cards was nothing compared to the joy we all felt making and delivering them. |
Fast forward to the end of 2015, and the beginning of SedonaKind. Our dear Constance spoke up at our first meeting and suggested "Operation Special Delivery" as a first project, and expanded it "just a little" to include making 250 cards!!!! And so it began. 250 beautiful handmade cards were created, with our 45 members of SedonaKind delivering them to our own special unsung heroes. It took 2 full days for Sandy Brandvold, Joy Sinnott and Brenda Cosse to design and prepare the components for assembly. "They could probably hear all our laughter in Flagstaff, it was so much fun!" said Joy. Two more days followed for 14 members to put all the cards together. Gloria Woody said "There is such synergy when you work with a group of women doing something you love, and that is so worthwhile". In addition to the cards, we decided to create small pottery hearts to go with some of the cards. Dennis Ott of SAC provided us with the necessary clay (and seemed to have as much fun as all the women), and Cliff Hamilton (Loving Bowls master creator) helped 8-10 women create 150 small embossed pottery hearts. The clay had to be rolled, cut, embossed, then fired in the kiln; and this all took several days as well.
Then the week of Valentine's Day, The SedonaKind team hit the pavement, and started delivering their cards. Some rang doorbells and ran away, some handed people their cards, and some were mailed. And as Sandy said, " it felt like we had been given the gift!!! The whole point to this is that there are always people in our lives who make it brighter, and who we never take the time to thank." And Constance said, "this was our chance, just as Aesop said "no act of kindness, however small is ever wasted". This year, 250 cards was all we could manage, and we know there are so many others in our community who deserve one. So we send you our love and thanks, and just watch your mailbox next year!
It was better than Christmas gifts or Valentine candy.... and we're all just riding high from the joy it brought us. And that's the message of SedonaKind. It's right there in our mission statement "To encourage acts of kindness, large and small, locally and around the world". If you'd like to be involved in any way, please visit our website at SedonaKind .org. We'd love to have you join the fun.
"Kindness gives birth to Kindness" Sophocles(447BC)
If you would like to create your own "Special Delivery" you can purchase our locally designed Kindness Cards.
Then the week of Valentine's Day, The SedonaKind team hit the pavement, and started delivering their cards. Some rang doorbells and ran away, some handed people their cards, and some were mailed. And as Sandy said, " it felt like we had been given the gift!!! The whole point to this is that there are always people in our lives who make it brighter, and who we never take the time to thank." And Constance said, "this was our chance, just as Aesop said "no act of kindness, however small is ever wasted". This year, 250 cards was all we could manage, and we know there are so many others in our community who deserve one. So we send you our love and thanks, and just watch your mailbox next year!
It was better than Christmas gifts or Valentine candy.... and we're all just riding high from the joy it brought us. And that's the message of SedonaKind. It's right there in our mission statement "To encourage acts of kindness, large and small, locally and around the world". If you'd like to be involved in any way, please visit our website at SedonaKind .org. We'd love to have you join the fun.
"Kindness gives birth to Kindness" Sophocles(447BC)
If you would like to create your own "Special Delivery" you can purchase our locally designed Kindness Cards.
Some responses from our recipients
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