Coping with Cancer Through Play, Camp
It all began with a volunteer’s observation about young cancer patients’ art: “Those pictures are as pretty as a Christmas card.” At the time, that volunteer never imagined the magnitude of what her idea would inspire.
In 1973, a few volunteer pioneers began work on an exciting new project. They began selling young cancer patients’ artwork as Christmas cards to M. D. Anderson employees. With no efficient distribution options in place, they used hospital gurneys as work tables on which they hand-packaged the new holiday cards in brown paper and string.
More successful than they ever imagined, the volunteers sold 9,000 cards that first year, raising $588 in proceeds. The Children’s Christmas Card Project was born.
That was 25 years ago.
Today, the Children’s Art Project (the name changed in 1995 to reflect the expansion of the Children’s Christmas Card Project, which now includes year-round seasonal greeting cards and gift items) is a big business with a big heart. The small group of volunteers has grown to include more than 10,000 people nationwide, and their primitive approaches to production, sales and distribution have evolved into high-tech, high-powered systems.
This year, for the second holiday season, volunteers and staff are entering orders on-line. Children’s art is evaluated and reproduced on computers. Focus groups and market research help determine which of the children’s designs will be most marketable and popular. A new web site accessed at www.mdanderson.org gives customers the opportunity to shop for the Project’s products via the Internet and send “e-cards” free of charge.
Additionally, the Project responds to ever-changing trends in business. Currently, it offers a range of products and services to fit the special needs of more than 5,000 corporate customers, who believe that when they send holiday greetings to clients some very special children should benefit.
And in its first move to enter the publishing world, the Project has self-published a first-ever children’s book called Bunnies in my Head. Written and illustrated by award-winning author Tricia Tusa, the book features an afterword by Barbara Bush and is being marketed by volunteers as a special 25th anniversary keepsake.
Through the years, some 302 designs created by young M. D. Anderson patients have been featured on holiday cards and gift items. Sales of those products have generated more than $10.3 million in proceeds, all of which have funded a myriad of innovative patient programs. Just last spring, the Project allocated a record $1 million from 1997 sales to patient programs.
Programs funded by the Project include summer camps, winter ski trips for young amputee patients, a Beauty/Barber Shop offering free hair care and wigs, an in-hospital classroom, educational field trips and college scholarships to current and former patients. All are programs that make life with cancer a little easier and a lot more normal.
With holiday cards available by direct mail and in 1,800 retail outlets from El Paso, Texas, to Orlando, Florida, these heartwarming products reach countless customers worldwide.
This fall, the Project celebrates its silver anniversary, making its mark as one of the oldest, largest and most-loved charitable card projects in the country. And with this special milestone, the children of M. D. Anderson make their mark — once again — as talented, young artists expressing their visions.– Andria Frankfort
