When sophomore Asha Greenidge was told that school was no longer in session because of CoVID 19, it was both sad and exciting. Exciting because school was out but sad because she would miss her friends, have to have school at home, and would not be able to stay involved in her volleyball or track and field activities.
Watching the news about the virus became overwhelming, so many people in need complicated with the loss of their loved ones, prompted Greenidge to want to do something positive. She and her sisters began to make cards with caring messages for those in the hospital.
The idea quickly caught on and soon Greenidge was including her neighbors, friends, and team members in Project Caring Card.
The cards are handmade by Bellflower Unified School District students from kindergarten to 12th grade, contributions have been made by Mayfair students and the Intensive Learning Center, which the younger Greenidge siblings currently attend.
Students as far as Anaheim, Compton, and Long Beach, who are on the permit to attend BUSD, were eager to contribute to the Project. A total of 75 families and nine neighboring cities have joined in creating cards as individuals or as a family affair.
To date, almost 2,000 cards have been created and delivered to Miller Children’s & Women hospital, UCLA, and Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital. Diahann Greenidge, Asha’s mother, said “Her story is a ray of sunshine in a world clouded by disease, death, and mayhem. Hopefully, this will inspire others to join her card-making crusade or create other ways to be agents of hope.”
“There are so many people that are in the hospital, so many people sick and I would get an emotional hearing about it every day on the news. I decided to make cards for them,” said Greenidge,” I didn’t know what to do, but thought that getting a card might brighten someone’s day.”
Greenidge said she learned a lot about persistence,” Some people didn’t want to write cards, they didn’t know what to say or maybe they lived too far away, like in Riverside. I learned how to deal with rejection and learned to stay humble because some people were in situations where they could not help.”
She has some plans to talk with her counselor come the beginning of the new school year and hopefully get more classes and even schools involved. If you would like to contribute materials or learn how to become involved contact Hews Media Group at editor@cerritosnews.net
