The volume of mail required a systematic approach. Working from home, the sisters divided tasks into writing, addressing, and sorting. Family members contributed by assembling supply kits containing cardstock, pens, and stickers. A local office-supply store provided discounted printing on bulk card stock, while neighbors volunteered to help carry boxes to the post office.
Postal logistics were a central challenge. Because each card was mailed individually rather than in batches, the sisters scheduled multiple trips to their local branch, coordinating with postal clerks to avoid delays for other customers. Over several weeks, they delivered roughly 400 to 500 cards per trip until all 16,000 had entered the mail stream.
Recipients included friends, former colleagues of their grandfather, nursing-home residents, and anonymous addressees whose names were gathered through online requests. Many cards were timed to arrive during the holiday season, a period when greeting-card exchanges traditionally peak across the United States. The sisters said they selected neutral messages suitable for any recipient, opting for phrases such as “thinking of you” or “wishing you a peaceful day.”
The gesture resonated with thousands of individuals who received the envelopes. Social-media clips shared by some recipients show handwritten notes expressing surprise and gratitude. Others posted images of the cards displayed on refrigerators, bulletin boards, or workplace desks. The sisters reported receiving hundreds of follow-up letters and emails thanking them for brightening an otherwise ordinary day.
Greeting cards occupy a longstanding role in American culture, with the Greeting Card Association estimating that roughly 6.5 billion cards are exchanged each year according to industry data. While mass-produced cards dominate the market, handwritten messages remain a defining feature of personal correspondence. By mailing thousands of individual notes, the sisters tapped into a tradition their grandfather embraced for decades.
Financial considerations were significant. Standard U.S. postage for a first-class greeting card is 68 cents; at that rate, mailing 16,000 cards would cost more than $10,000 in stamps alone. The sisters covered the expense through personal savings and small donations from followers who asked to contribute. They emphasized that no corporate sponsors were involved and that all funds were used strictly for materials and postage.
Time management presented another hurdle. Working around full-time jobs, the sisters established nightly writing sessions, sometimes extending into the early hours of the morning. They estimate investing more than 1,200 combined hours—roughly 50 straight days—into handwriting messages, sealing envelopes, and affixing stamps. Despite the workload, both described the activity as therapeutic, noting that each completed card felt like “another conversation” with their grandfather.
The project drew attention from community organizations, some of which requested additional cards for residents or members. While the sisters fulfilled several of these requests, they insisted on maintaining the project’s original scope and declined offers to commercialize the effort. They stated that turning the tribute into a recurring venture would shift focus away from their grandfather’s memory.
In follow-up videos, the sisters shared that the final card count reached 16,347, surpassing their initial goal by more than 300. They have stored a handful of unused envelopes and stamps in a keepsake box next to their grandfather’s old fountain pen, planning to use them for personal correspondence rather than future mass mail-outs.
Although the mailing phase has ended, responses continue to arrive. The sisters intend to compile the thank-you notes, social-media comments, and photographs into a digital scrapbook for family members who were not directly involved. They consider the ongoing influx of messages an extension of their grandfather’s legacy—proof, they say, that a handwritten note still carries weight in a digital age.
No further large-scale mailings are planned, but the sisters hope that sharing their experience will encourage others to reach out to friends, relatives, or even strangers with a simple card. “If a short note can make one person feel remembered,” one of the sisters observed in a recent post, “then 16,000 notes can create 16,000 moments of remembrance.”
Crédito da imagem: ABC News Live
