Volunteer Spotlight: Kelly Oost

Kelly Oost, Cards for Care volunteer and designer of card inserts.

Written by Lyra Brown, VP Communications

When Kelly Oost discovered Cards for Care, she already knew the power that a handmade card can hold.

Five years ago, Kelly stepped away from running two YouTube channels and selling handmade cards at markets. While she loved creating, she found herself wanting to focus on something different.

“I was tired of the markets and wanted to do something to help and send some kindness out into the world,” she explains.

She began donating handmade cards to seniors and hospitals, quietly spreading encouragement wherever she could. When she later came across the Cards for Care website while searching for a new place to donate her cards, she knew she had found the right fit.

Since joining the Cards for Care community this February, Kelly has already begun contributing uniquely and creatively.

Because handwriting can be painful for her, Kelly initially asked if she could type the messages that go inside the cards. With Carmen’s approval, she began designing beautifully formatted inserts featuring carefully chosen fonts, colours, and decorative frames.

What started as a personal solution quickly grew into something much bigger.

“I started creating many colours, fonts, and background frames,” Kelly says.

“It was a little crazy because I had five different inserts for one sentiment at one facility — but I loved every moment making them.”

When she shared her designs with the team, the idea quickly expanded. Kelly’s inserts can now help other volunteers include approved messages inside their cards while still maintaining a beautiful and personal feel.

Her approach blends both digital design and traditional crafting.

Kelly enjoys creating custom digital papers, colourizing images, and designing sentiments that match the overall look of each card. When it comes to physical card making, she often develops her own card sketches and saves photos of designs she loves so she can recreate them later.

“It’s all a creative process,” she says. “Every step takes colour matching and trying to find a pleasing design.”

But beyond the craft itself, Kelly keeps the people receiving the cards at the centre of her work.

“I hope each person feels that someone cares about them and recognizes that someone took the time to make that card just for them,” she says.

“With the different colours and designs, it gives people something just a little unique and helps them feel special.”

Although she only joined Cards for Care recently, Kelly says volunteering already feels meaningful.

“It is very meaningful to give the gift of time and cards to many people who need to know that someone is thinking about them.”

For anyone who might be unsure about getting involved, Kelly has simple advice:

“There are many people out there who would benefit from any number of cards that you make — whether you have time to make five, ten, or even three hundred.”

In her words, Cards for Care is:

“An amazing organization designed specifically to bring a community together to create cards that will bring a lot of joy, comfort, and happiness to all who receive them.”

And thanks to volunteers like Kelly, that community continues to grow, one card at a time.