There is a wall at Seattle Children's Hospital covered in handwritten cards. Crayon-colored stars, careful cursive, stickers, and hand-drawn rainbows — sent by students across the Pacific Northwest who wanted a child they'd never met to know that someone was rooting for them. Many of those cards were written by ICW volunteers.
The ICW care package and card campaign is one of the organization's most consistent programs. Multiple times a year, chapters across North America mobilize their members to write personal, heartfelt cards for pediatric cancer patients. The cards are bundled with small care items — journals, comfort socks, small toys — and delivered to partner hospitals including Seattle Children's.
Why Cards Matter in a Hospital Setting
For a child spending weeks or months in treatment, the hospital can start to feel like the whole world. The routine of IV lines, vitals checks, and medication schedules can blur into a kind of institutional sameness that strips away the feeling of being seen as a person — not just a patient. That's where a handwritten card can do something medicine cannot.
Research in pediatric oncology has consistently shown that emotional well-being directly affects treatment outcomes. Patients with strong social support, a sense of belonging, and positive emotional engagement tend to tolerate treatment better and recover more quickly. ICW's card campaigns are designed with this in mind: the goal isn't just to make a child smile — it's to remind them that they exist in a larger web of care that extends far beyond the hospital walls.
— ICW Chapter Member, Issaquah WA
What Goes Into a Care Package
Every package is assembled with intention. ICW volunteers sort items by age group and include a hand-signed card written specifically for that recipient's stage of life — a coloring book and crayons for a five-year-old looks different from a journal and playlist card for a teenager. Packages for older kids often include comfort items like soft socks, a small succulents kit, or a puzzle.
The cards themselves are the most personal element. ICW members are encouraged to write something genuine — not just "feel better soon," but a real sentence about who they are, what they care about, why they wanted to reach out. Children and parents have written back to ICW to say these messages meant the world to them.
How You Can Help
The next card drive is open to anyone who wants to participate. You don't need to be an ICW chapter member — just a person with a pen and something genuine to say. Email us to get involved, or check our events page for upcoming drives near you.
