Brighten a day and volunteer with Brock Sending Sunshine.
Brock Sending Sunshine is a chapter of the main Mississauga organization, which sends hand-written cards to senior care facilities across Canada and the globe.
Abby Payne, current vice president of the BUSU-ratified club, founded the club last year to give Brock students an easy and fun way to get volunteer hours for class or the Campus-Wide Co-Curriculum (CWC), an additional certification Brock students can get when they graduate.
“With high school students needing 40 hours to graduate, there’s a lot of high school clubs,” said Payne, “but with the CWC at Brock, you need 40 hours, so… why don’t we try to make a chapter here?”
She found that so many opportunities to get volunteer hours were set to specific dates and times, something that didn’t work for her hectic schedule. With this in mind, she made Brock Sending Sunshine a way for students to get these hours and not sacrifice other facets of their lives, like jobs or school.
“You can do as little or as much as you want,” said Payne, with some club members making hundreds of cards or only two in a few weeks. Whatever cards get created help make a difference, no matter how many a student makes.
Last year, Brock Sending Sunshine produced around 700 cards, a number they are on track to match this year after making around 300 last term.
These cards can be whatever students want them to be. Club members are encouraged to endow them with stickers and drawings, and write about positivity in their lives, whether that be a good book they’re reading or a recent accomplishment; anything to spread positivity to some of Canada’s most vulnerable population. It’s about the “hand-written message,” said Payne.
According to Sending Sunshine’s website, nearly one-third of all seniors live by themselves and more than 40 per cent of all seniors regularly experience loneliness. Endowing these cards with joy and happiness is the club’s primary purpose.
Payne herself enjoyed creating art in high school, so enjoys making the outside of her cards aesthetically pleasing. As per the messages themselves: “Talking to somebody, even though it’s anonymous… it’s kind of therapeutic to write a little note.” Payne likes to give updates on her progress at school or share things she’s proud of and sometimes asks questions to prompt a conversation between the Sending Sunshine representative and the senior receiving it.
Writing to anonymous seniors can be challenging. Payne said many people resort to condescending phrases like “best wishes” or “things will get better,” which focus on hardship. Distracting the recipients from hardship is what Payne said is the focus: prompting positive emotions and sharing personal happiness.
In line with Payne’s vision for an accessible schedule, the club does not meet at a specific time every week, but rather splits the meetings among the executives’ schedules so more people can attend. Upcoming meetings include Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 1 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 15 at 2:30 p.m and Monday, Feb. 26 at 1:30 p.m.
Club members are also encouraged to make cards on their own time if meeting dates don’t work. Brock Sending Sunshine can provide materials to anybody interested.
Payne stressed the importance of branching out into other extracurriculars at Brock, even if they’re not associated with the CWC. “If you’re too focused on classes and work… you lose out on a lot of connections that could’ve been made. I’m enjoying getting to know people, and clubs are really helpful for that.”
Meetings with Brock Sending Sunshine are a way to destress through crafts, steep yourself in positivity and get some volunteer hours. Anybody can participate, regardless of their skill levels in art or writing. It’s like “writing a journal entry to somebody,” said Payne. At the end of the day, it’s all about the message and sparking positivity in the lives of those who need it most.
To get more information or to see their meeting schedule, students can visit the Brock Sending Sunshine ExperienceBU or Instagram page.