Reconnect Ontario project spreads 'quite a bit of happiness' one postcard at a time

A Guelph-based social project is hoping to give away thousands of postcards this month to help cheer people up as they deal with various challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Justin Chan started The Community Company in November 2018 as a way to provide people overcoming hardships in life an opportunity to inspire them through storytelling. 

The Community Company has partnered with J.O.E. (Job Opportunities Enterprise) — a Guelph-based charity focused on community-based employment and job-training for adults with developmental disabilities — for a postcard campaign called Reconnect Ontario.

"Our goal is to sell 4,000 postcards and give away [thousands] as well to our community, and just to share these beautiful postcards to make people smile and to remind each other that we still care for one another and to spread quite a bit of happiness during this time," Chan told CBC K-W.

"We're doing this project really to spread happiness, it's not about selling as many postcards."

There are four sets of four postcards. Each card was created by an individual at J.O.E. and each represents what community means to the creator.

"So we have one postcard with a heart on it, one postcard with someone serving coffee, another postcard with a tree and community, and a fourth one of a family and a teddy bear telling a joke," Chan said. 

"They're quite diverse but they really represent what community means to each of the partners."

Sharing positive messages

The four creators were paid for their time and also earn money from every postcard sale made on The Community Company's website.

"It's very important for us to reach out to help people feel happy, to share with them things they need, and to share positive messages with them and bring smiles to their faces and brighten their spirits" shared Susie Scott, one of the four postcard creators.

"I want my postcard to make other people happy, to make them smile."

Ranju Arneja, another creator, said: "My community has given me the means to connect with people and I feel like I belong."

"I chose a joke theme for my card because everybody loves jokes. People get cheered up even if they are having a bad day. My jokes put smiles on the faces of the J.O.E. customers," Arneja added.

Thousands of postcards already given away

In just two weeks, Chan said they've already sold or given away more than 2,000 postcards to people in major cities like Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, Toronto, and London, but also small Ontario towns like Alvinston, Creemore and Woodstock.

He said each of the creators was also given a set of 200 postcards to give away. 

"One creator went to their optometrist to give away about 50 … another creator went to a retirement home that they volunteered at and offered the postcards to every single one of the community members there to write a postcard to their family," Chan said. 

"We've had another creator bring postcards to their doctor's office and set up a stand. So, the postcards that we've given away so far have really just been all across the community. 

"We've donated about 1,600 to Hope House, which is a charity in Guelph, to include as part of their Community Backpack Project, so we're just trying to spread these postcards wherever we can and to touch as many groups as possible," he added.

Partnership with Guelph Public Library

The Community Company has also partnered with the Guelph Public Library, and for the entire month of August all six library branches will be giving away a postcard with every book that's signed out. 

"So, every week there's going to be a new postcard that's given away at the library and we're going to be giving away 1,000 a week," Chan said.

"There's nothing like receiving a postcard in the mail. I think nowadays especially, because we get so many flyers in the mail, getting a cute postcard with a nice message reminding them that people still care about them is so different and so unique and so special."

Michelle Campbell, manager public service at the library, agrees that the idea of sending a postcard at this time is quite timely.

"It's reestablishing your social connections and how important that is throughout the community, and here at the library that's really important to us to have a healthy community in Guelph," Campbell told CBC K-W.

"Anything that we can do to support that is important."

Campbell said the cards are "pretty popular" as more and more people return to libraries after months of lockdown.