Volunteers send snail-mail cheer to the gravely ill

We're losing our sense of simplicity.

The little, basic things we once embraced as special are slowly losing their luster.

Whether it's a walk around the block, an ice-cold glass of fresh lemonade or an unexpected telephone call, we seem to be abandoning simple things for more extravagant ones.

Everything has become so complicated: food, recreation, toys, relationships. Even in the movies, James Bond is more shaken than stirred; the Batman's Joker delivers no laughs.

Luckily, there's a group that still believes in simple: ShareaCard. Run on a shoestring by a small group of women, ShareaCard operates on the idea that nothing lifts your spirits when you're feeling bad like finding a surprise in your mailbox.

Not an e-mail. Not a voice mail. Not a text message. A real card — one you can hold in your hand, stand up on your dresser, or save to read again and again.

Started in 1999 by a Pittsburgh woman named Suzanne Virostek, ShareaCard enlists volunteers to send one or two cards a month to people around the country with life-threatening illnesses.

It's a simple way to make a big difference: card, note, stamp. Smile.

Suzanne died in 2004 after a seven-month battle with ovarian cancer. But before she died, she asked good friend Kathy Yordy to keep the organization running after her death.

The Elizabethtown, Pa., resident couldn't say no to the young wife and mother.

"When she got ill, she sent me all the information needed to run the site and asked me to take control of everything. ShareaCard was where her heart was," Yordy said.

"I went out to visit her after one of her surgeries and said, 'I don't know how to tell you this, but I don't know how to do any of this.' The look on her face, I felt like I had disappointed her. I came home and kept praying about it and asked the Lord for the knowledge to do this for her."

Today Yordy and four other women from Pennsylvania, Texas and California operate ShareaCard.org with the slogan, "Making a difference, one card at a time." ShareaCard became a registered nonprofit last August.

Each month, the group features one or two individuals in need of cards. So far, the list has included more than 150 people, mostly adults, suffering from illnesses.

Volunteers register at the Web site, ShareaCard.org, promising to send up to two cards every month. There are about 80 active volunteers, some from as far away as Canada and Australia.

Each card goes to a post office box in Campbelltown, Pa., to protect the privacy of the featured individual. Cindy Gabner collects the cards and forwards them.

Recipients say the encouragement they receive from the cards is invaluable.

A cancer patient from California wrote: "It is so special to see that wonderful smiley face on the envelope. It's amazing how much people do care. Thanks again for all the special love."

The sister of a cancer patient from Texas said: "The cards help Jimmie through the day; it's good to know that someone cares! The cards brought comfort and hope not only to Jimmie, but his family also."

"I would love for us to grow really big and send out hundreds of cards a month. The possibilities are endless," Yordy said.