"While we were all quick to rally around healthcare heroes during weeks one, two, and three, 18 Million Thanks reminds us that the challenges for frontline workers persist month after month.", a California-based greeting card company led by illustrator Juliana Tyson Kissick. The premise is simple: participants are asked to either purchase a thank-you card from one of the campaign's small stationery companies, or make their own at home.
"To me, it's less about exactly hitting 18 million and [more about] just knowing that we're having momentum," Kissick told POPSUGAR. However, participants need not buy a card from one of the campaign's member organizations in order to participate: results are being tallied by cards sent, not cards sold."We didn't want to make it commercially based because we want people to participate even if they want to write a letter from home," he said.
So far, the initiative has sent just under 14,000 cards, many of them through the United States Postal Service. Kissick added that supporting the postal service through its bureaucratic struggles is another goal of the campaign."In the stationery industry, we know what a vital role USPS plays in this ecosystem and how much we appreciate the postal workers," he said.
Recently, the campaign set a short-term goal of sending 18,000 letters by August 31. This goal, called 18K for 18 Million Thanks, is paired with a fundraising goal of $18,000 to support mental healthcare for BIPOC frontline workers. To participate, you can make a donation to