Nonprofit ‘spreads joy’ to local businesses with homemade cards
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - One nonprofit is helping spread love and joy on Valentine’s Day.
Joy by Jennifer is in the business of personalized birthday cards, created by individuals with Down syndrome.
On this Valentine’s Day, Jennifer Metts and her family surprised businesses all day with these custom cards.
More than 250 cards later, Metts says it’s the start of many more personal messages to come.
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She’s stepping into love and spreading joy this Valentine’s season the best way she knows how.
“It’s just something that she likes to do. Jennifer wants to spread joy,” said Jami Mims, Metts’ mom.
Metts’ family says it wasn’t always this easy to do that.
“We noticed that she was getting a little depressed, a little down, and not able to get out much socially. And so prayed about it and just asked God to reveal to me what would be good for her,” said Mims.
Mims says it was birthday cards she loved the most.
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Reading the positive messages others left for her, Metts started doing the same but on a much larger scale.
“We decided to let it kind of be her thing. So now she’s sending birthday cards to people all over the country,” said Mims.
And she wants to get the word out even more.
“We decided that we wanted to get the word out, but also just spread joy to people that might not normally get a Valentine’s Day, or sometimes people just don’t, you know, it’s not really a holiday a lot of people celebrate, but when it’s spread some joy,” said Mims.
For Metts and her family, it’s more than just a gesture, but the message behind it.
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“Having a child with Down syndrome, you know, a lot of people think she brings you so much joy, and she does, but sometimes it feels a little too personal, and you want to just share that with other people. You know, just other people need to feel the love that she exudes on our family every single day,” said Mims.
They’re spreading one card and one message at a time in hopes of inspiring more positive outreach no matter the barrier.
“They’re not really down, they’re up, right? Jennifer, yes, and just make sure people understand that a person with special needs isn’t less than they can bring just as much joy to the community as anyone else,” she said.
The cards are free. The only cost is taking the time to schedule an appointment for a request.
You can schedule an appointment by visiting Joy by Jennifer’s website.
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