Bend NICU support group sends ‘Cheerful Cards’ to families

(Update: Adding video, quotes from group founder and her son)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A support group in Bend with a focus on patients in neonatal intensive care units and their families has extended their reach to people from all walks of life, not just in Central Oregon but also across the country.

Patient and Family Care in Bend, founded by Sara Mosher, a registered nurse, said Wednesday it's not just NICU patients and families needing to hear words of encouragement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group and volunteers are making homemade cards and letters to send out to people as part of the Cheerful Cards Project, hoping to bring joy in the form of a surprise in the mail.

Mosher said it's difficult for families to not be able to support their child in the hospital due to limited visitation hours as a result of the virus outbreak. She said that is now a reality many people have to face in all healthcare facilities.

“We started sending cards to elderly who are alone in nursing homes and can’t see their family," Mosher said. "We’ve also sent them to children in the hospitals with non-COVID related situations, giving them a bit of cheer and to their parents struggling with being separated from them."

Mosher said the idea of the project came to her while she and her sons were writing letters to pen pals.

“We have a lot of people who are isolated at home that are scared, afraid and lonely, and families struggling to meet basic needs of their household," Mosher said. "So we just wanted to give them something to distract them from stress and anxiety."

She took the idea to social media, where it garnered the attention of people outside of Oregon, including in Texas and Missouri.

Her son, Wyatt, is a fifth-grader who is completing the rest of his school year online. He said he spends his free time contributing cards of his own.

"If you have something going on or are nervous about the pandemic, we could all get cheered up with one little card," Wyatt said.

To learn how to join in the project, visit Patient and Family Care's website.