Good use for extra Christmas cards

November 24, 2016 12:04 PM

It's me, the person who actually likes sending Christmas cards. I found an old box with a few extra. Where is a good place to send them this year?

I found instructions to send an Any Soldier card. Where is a less obvious place to send a little cheer to some of the many who will be sad this season?

posted by Countess Elena to Grab Bag (6 answers total)

How about the Metafilter Gift Drive?
posted by Candleman at 12:13 PM on November 24, 2016 [2 favorites]

Prisoners?

Google shows a bunch of orgs in the US, with varying levels of religiosity.
posted by porpoise at 12:21 PM on November 24, 2016 [1 favorite]

Every year Amnesty International identifies 10 to 12 cases—including Prisoners of Conscience, human rights defenders, torture survivors, etc.—and makes them the focus of their letter writing campaigns.

So you can send your extra Christmas cards out as 'solidarity cards'. See this PDF from Amnesty UK: Write for Life – Greetings card and letter writing campaign. Do note that for some recipients explicitly religious cards are not permitted.
posted by Kabanos at 12:43 PM on November 24, 2016 [5 favorites]

I came in to suggest Write for Rights, too. Here's a link to this year's campaign. It's important to make sure that you use the current year's list of recipients, because part of the strength of the campaign is in the protective value of large, public and concentrated support.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 12:51 PM on November 24, 2016 [2 favorites]

On a more local scale, is there a nursing home nearby? I'm sure many residents would love some old school holiday cheer. Sign them with your name and good wishes, add some stickers for fun, and drop them off for the staff to give to residents.
posted by NoraCharles at 3:21 PM on November 24, 2016 [4 favorites]

I just saw this: the address for a 99 year old vet who only got one card last year.
posted by DarlingBri at 8:50 AM on November 29, 2016