July 17: Bright Spots Weekly

Welcome to this week’s Bright Spots! ✨

We’ve got uplifting moments, exciting opportunities, and impactful ways you can be part of the Sent With Love story.

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This Week's Update

Sometimes the people who encourage others need encouragement, too.

💌 Meet Vicki, one of our talented card-making volunteers.

SWL: What inspired you to start volunteering with Sent With Love?

Vicki: I think of myself as a giving person, so I often volunteer myself for things. When I first met you, I had a couple of hundred cards that were just sitting there, that I made over the past year or two. And so finding a home for them was a big plus for me.

I guess I make them so I’m my own worst critic—it's like I have to be perfect. But I enjoy it when people respond and say, "I got your cards and they’re just beautiful." 💛 It makes it all worth it. The fact that I had donated the cards and that I will make cards—you know it’s for a good cause. It’s just uplifting to be part of something like Sent With Love, and I think we all need that these days especially. ✨ We need something positive instead of the negativity that’s in the air.

SWL: What is your favorite thing about making cards, and how does knowing it reaches a Warrior Kid make you feel?

Vicki: I have to say, my favorite thing is anytime I get feedback about my cards. 💌 No one has ever said, "What a crummy card." I get a lot of compliments, and every one of them is a blessing, I guess, for lack of a better way to put it. It’s uplifting, and the fact that I know that the cards are going to families that can really use them is a big plus. 💛

SWL: What's a fun fact about you that people might not know?

Vicki: I was a school bus driver 🚌 in the suburbs of the Chicagoland area. I did a part-time job at a gas station/grocery store thing and also worked as a special education bus driver. It’s like a big school bus, except shorter. I had behavioral disability and learning disability kids from various parts of that school district. And I was able to work with the kids when they needed to sit down. I found ways to convince them that it was the right thing to do.

In the area where I drove, which was Bellwood, Northlake, and Berkeley, in western Chicago, we had to go over this big Manheim Bridge 🌉 that had a huge railroad underneath. Well, there’s a bump on a specific spot on this bridge, so I told the kids, "If you’re sitting in your seat and you’re behaving, we'll go over the bridge." I know it sounds silly, but it worked.

 The most difficult part was to be there for the learning disability children, because the behavioral children could pick on them, so I made sure to sit them where I could keep an eye on them. 💙

A lot of the parents would come out and meet the kids at the bus, and they always said thank you. A few of them made me Christmas presents, but it was a fun time. 🎁

SWL: How many years did you drive?

Vicki: I would have to say eight years. I consider it here in Florida. I don’t mean to be petty, but it doesn't pay very much. I’m sorry, I’m not getting up at 5 o’clock, and it would take me away from the other things.

SWL: Thank you for being a part of Sent With Love; your cards are so well made!

💌 As Vicki says, "We all need positivity," and we're thankful she's helping send it, one card at a time.

📹 See Vicki's Interview

⭐️ Contact Us to Make Cards for Us!

Everything We Do Is Possible Because Of Friends Like You Who Believe In Love, Encouragement, And Community. Thank You For Being Part Of The Sent With Love Family!

Do everything in Love. 1 Corinthians 16:14