By Brad Webber
United States
The Rotary Club of Conway-Morning, Arkansas, is aiming to deliver birthday messages to every child and young adult in the state’s foster care system. Between January and September, more than 2,100 cards had been mailed, with an anticipated 3,700 individuals to be reached annually. “These children already face great uncertainty and disappointments in their lives, and I strongly believe that to consistently remember them on their special day would give them hope to go on, and to show that others around them genuinely care for them,” says Mike Altland, a club member who started the campaign. A dozen or so Rotarian volunteers coordinate writing and forwarding cards to foster homes with the Arkansas Division of Children and Family Services and The Call, a statewide nonprofit that works with churches to match children with families. American Greetings, which operates a production facility in the area, donated a supply of cards and envelopes expected to last nearly two years, Altland says.