In memory of our beloved cat Dude. He blessed us with unconditional love and affection for 22 years. He has left our world, but will always be in our hearts. We dedicate this program to him because of the loving support he represents. He was with me through all the lows of my mental illness and unquestionably helped me through it, allowing me to help others now.
We make it easy to show patients in the psychiatric unit you care.
Psych Ward Greeting Cards makes it easy for empathic and compassionate people to let patients in the psychiatric unit know that people, even strangers, care about them and support them. It is a ForLikeMinds program created and managed by Katherine Ponte to deliver greeting cards, chocolate, and small gifts from strangers to patients at participating hospitals.
Sharing a card can have a wonderful impact on a patient at their lows - offering help, encouragement, and hope. They need our support at this critical and vulnerable time.
More than 80% of former psychiatric unit patients surveyed said receiving a "get well soon" card would have helped their recovery. A little evidence to share.
Donate a card. Send it to us.
And we'll deliver it to the psychiatric unit.
If you would like to support patients
in the psychiatric unit:
Please Donate Cards
You can send us handmade or store-bought cards with your own inspirational and hopeful message or blank cards. It's always nice to adorn the cards with decorations, stickers, and other artwork. We especially cherish our many repeat donors who help sustain our program. We’re also grateful to those who organize card-making events with friends, family, colleagues, classmates, and community organizations, which are a wonderful way to bring us together to support those in need. We often feature donated cards on our ForLikeMinds Facebook Page and Psych Ward Greeting Cards Blog.
Write a Message if You Wish
You can include an inspirational and hopeful message such as "get well soon", "have hope", or "you can recover". Most messages are about three lines long. The patients especially like messages about overcoming struggle. During our visits, the patients often read the messages aloud to each other, which can be very moving. Please do not include faith-based messages; we appreciate the thought but are unable to control the distribution of cards to individual recipients.
Donate Blank Cards
Please feel free to send blank cards as well. We make sure all cards include a message. If you donate blank cards, it’s nice to write your first name and state on the back of each card to help personalize it.
Donations by Card Designers & Artists
We love to collaborate with card designers and artists. We welcome cards from previous years’ lines and/or with slight imperfections (envelopes are not required). We partner with many fabulous artists like Barb Murak We also share beautiful coloring cards designed by Patrick Hruby for us. We share them with patients. You may also like them.
Donations by Non-profits
We love to partner with non-profits who share our mission. We have a wonderful ongoing collaboration with the Silver Center at Fountain House. We have also received donations from faith-based and educational institutions.
Donate Holiday Cards
The holidays can be an especially lonely time in psychiatric units. We have had special holiday hospital visits for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas/Hanukkah, Valentine's Day, and Easter/Passover.
501(c)(3)
Make a Donation
Please consider making a donation to us.
We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (Mental Illness Recovery, Inc. EIN: 86-3778007) and all donations are tax deductible.
Our Board of Directors are
Katherine Ponte
,
Izzy Goncalves
,
Jake Foley
, and
Nathan Romano
Please
make a donation
and accept our heartfelt thanks. Thank you so much to the many who have made a donation. You help us make what we do possible.
Giving Partners
Join Us
We owe great thanks to our giving partners. They make it possible for us to reach thousands of patients during their hospital stay and at the time of discharge with chocolate and small gifts. The time following discharge is critically important. One study found that the suicide rate during the first 3 months after discharge is approximately 100 to nearly 200 times that of global suicide rates. We meet patients when they need us most.
Our Impact
We launched our program in June 2019. I shared our story in Schizophrenia Bulletin. Since then, we have reached over 15,000 patients in psychiatric units with greeting cards, chocolate, and small gifts, with support from our amazing card donors, financial contributors, and giving partners from across the country. We are pleased that the program has been so highly praised by all types of participants. See hospital testimonials - one, two, three and four - and patient testimonials - one and two.
Creator
Katherine Ponte
My name is Katherine Ponte. I am living in recovery from severe bipolar I disorder with psychosis. I do many things. I am most proud of this program. It has brought hope to so many at the most difficult time for most people living with mental illness – a hospitalization. It’s a time of hopelessness for many. I know what living without hope means. Not so long ago, my last psychiatrist told me I would never get better, that my manic episodes would become stronger and more frequent. I believed them. And then I heard a message of hope for recovery during my last hospitalization. As I slowly reached recovery, I knew that I had to help my peers in inpatient units. I knew that others wanted to support them too, but didn’t know how. I wanted to help make that connection. It was emotionally very difficult for me to return to the psych ward given my own three traumatic involuntary hospitalizations, but I knew I had to. I am so glad I did. I encourage you to join us in loving and supporting my community. Their gratitude is indescribable. Mine as well.
Please mail all donations to:
Katherine Ponte
P.O. Box 251
Shokan, NY 12481
Receiving the get well cards from the Psych Ward Greeting Cards program was a breath of inspiration! Our inpatient peers were very touched, both by the beautiful designs and by the messages of hope and recovery. Knowing that strangers - some of them in recovery themselves - took the time to send these heartfelt messages gave them a feeling of support and sustenance. In fact, several of our peers decided to make their own cards to contribute to the "Psych Ward Greeting Cards" program! We look forward to an ongoing connection with this wonderful outreach initiative."
Chaya Weinstein, Occupational Therapist
Payne Whitney Clinic, New York-Presbyterian
We hope you'll join us in making a difference. We send a heartfelt thanks to all of our patients, card donors, especially our ForLikeMinds Community, financial contributors, giving partners, and hospital and non-profit partners.
Our program was inspired by my experiences living with severe bipolar I disorder, including three hospitalizations.
I wanted to share an inspiring message of recovery in a simple caring approach.
Since I returned home from the last stay and until this day, my Mom and Dad have sent me the most loving cards every week.
They make me feel loved and cared for, remembered, and needed.
I want to share these same feelings with all psychiatric patients.
- Katherine