Project crafts cheer for cancer patients

Owens student Lydia Kwapich of Waterville colors a card designed to uplift a cancer patient. THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON Enlarge | Photo Reprints

Armed with $50 worth of rubber stamps, foam stickers, and other crafting supplies, Faith Barnes called on students and fellow staff at Owens Community College to help give encouragement to cancer patients.

Ms. Barnes, student activities assistant at Owens, heard on Facebook about this week's national Cards 4 Cancer Day effort.

She said Caroline Johnson, the year-old daughter of a southern Ohio couple she knows, is battling a rare type of pediatric liver cancer, so helping cheer cancer patients with homemade cards was an ideal project.

"I thought this was something really easy to do that would have a great impact," Ms. Barnes said last week as several people worked on cards in the student activities office.

"This is something that people can do in between classes really quick," she added.

The first Cards 4 Cancer Day effort, coordinated by the Florida nonprofit organization Spirit Jump, is attempting to deliver more than 100,000 cards to cancer patients Saturday.

Ms. Barnes is one of more than 1,080 team leaders mostly in the United States who have signed up to make and deliver cards.

She said half of the roughly 200 cards made over two days last week by students, staff, and children in Owens' preschool program will be given to local cancer patients.

The others are bound for Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus.

Little Caroline - the daughter of Ms. Barnes' friends Leighanne and A.J. Johnson of Chillicothe - is getting a poster-sized card from Owens signed by multiple well-wishers. Doctors removed 80 percent of her liver last week.

Owens students Tamela Mitchell and William White, who are both from Toledo, wrote inspiring messages last week on the cards they made.

Ms. Mitchell also decorated a heart-shaped puzzle, putting words including "love," "smile," and "joy" on each piece.

"I like to do things like this - show my support, that I care for somebody else," she said while finishing the puzzle.

Agreed Mr. White: "It's always good to help somebody other than yourself."

Some crafters brought in partially completed homemade cards for participants to finish decorating, inscribe, and sign.

Besides the $50 worth of items that can be used for other projects Ms. Barnes ordered, some students brought in crafting supplies for others to use.

"It's been awesome," Ms. Barnes said. "It's really cool to see some of the stuff people are doing."

Contact Julie M. McKinnon at:

jmckinnon@theblade.com

or 419-724-6087.