Harker UNICEF hosted its first club meeting of the year, where students used colorful, patterned envelopes, cards and stickers to design cards for hospitalized children on Tuesday.
The cards will be delivered to families around the world through the organization Cardz for Kidz, whom UNICEF officers coordinated with beforehand. Co-president Omar Khan (11) felt the thoughtful act of writing letters could leave a lasting impression.
“We want to send these cards to children’s hospitals, because actually going in person and having an event is time-consuming,” Omar said. “We want to make something accessible for everybody so that they can still make an impact on children’s lives. We thought card making is the perfect way to do that because it’s very simple, it’s fun, and when a child opens up a card, you never know what they’re going through. So if they just have that little ray of sunshine within their day of gloom, that could be really, really helpful.”

Card making has been a tradition at Harker UNICEF for several years, both to aid those in need and to build a tight-knit community within the club itself. The club kicked off the event with a brief slideshow introducing their officers and UNICEF’s mission statement of supporting children’s rights and basic needs.
“I really hope that even small words and little cards can have a big impact on someone’s day,” attendee Alexis Santosa (10) said. “I’ve taught a few kids before in computer science classes, so I definitely know what it’s like for a small gesture to make a child really happy. It’s so sweet to see their smiles whenever they really are.”
Officers started preparing materials and logistics for the event in August, first communicating with Cardz for Kidz and then reaching out to Community Service Director and Activities Coordinator Kerry Enzensperger to ensure the event counted toward community service hours requirements. Director of Operations Phoebe Lee (11) explained changes the club made in this year’s preparations.
“We usually send cards to foster children, but the organization that we partner with doesn’t offer that anymore, so we had to find another one which suggested making cards for hospitalized children,” Phoebe said. “Then we had to buy the supplies, the cards, stickers and the snacks for everyone. It’s really fun to see everyone get excited over making cards and using stickers, because I think nowadays everyone thinks, ‘Oh, using stickers is kind of cringey,’ and you see a break from that.”
Omar reflected on his hopes for the effect of the cards and what the initiative meant to him.

“A lot of children, they’re going through very difficult situations,” Omar said. “Some of them might even be terminally ill patients, and you want to make sure that everything you do for them is making their lives on this earth a little bit easier, even if it’s just by a little bit. As long as we keep adding up those little amounts, you eventually get such a big effect on these children that is honestly remarkable, and I want to be part of making that remarkable effect on these children.”