S
SnotBubbles
Dec 16, 2009 11:49am
[size=large]NEW DEVELOPMENT:[/size]
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http://content.usatoday.com/topics/post/Places,+Geography/States,+Territories,+Provinces,+Islands/U.S.+States/Ohio/11533.blog/1
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[/size]The parents of Nate Elfrink, 7, are grateful to the thousands of people who sent Christmas cards, but asked that people stop.
http://content.usatoday.com/topics/post/Places,+Geography/States,+Territories,+Provinces,+Islands/U.S.+States/Ohio/11533.blog/1
imex99
Posts: 4,927
Dec 16, 2009 12:12pm
Yep, I read that also....
Good gesture but it show's that our country still cares about our own.
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/12/15/MANYCARDS.ART_ART_12-15-09_A1_V8G0GL7.html?sid=101
Good wishes envelop sick boy, family
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 3:04 AM
By Holly Zachariah
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
HOW TO HELP
* Donations earmarked for hospice in Nate Elfrink's name can be made to Nationwide Children's Hospital Foundation at nationwidechildrens.org or can be sent to the foundation at 700 Children's Dr., Columbus, OH 43205.[/size][/size]
Postal carrier Katy Handley rolled up to the Elfrink house in West Jefferson yesterday and dropped off the family's Christmas cards -- all 4,000 of them.
That was on top of the thousands she delivered Saturday, the thousands on Friday, the thousands ... well, you get the picture.
The cards are mostly from strangers, people respond-
ing to a ubiquitous online message and e-mail request that said 7-year-old Nate Elfrink, a brain-cancer patient now in hospice care, wanted to receive 1 million Christmas cards.
When the cards started rolling in last week, Dode McVey quickly realized a simple online message she wrote updating her son's condition and suggesting that he would appreciate cards had somehow gotten out of hand.
The good-hearted and well-meaning people who e-mailed her message en masse around the globe -- and posted it on Facebook and Twitter -- didn't just take it a step forward: "They took it up Mount Everest," said Nate's father, Tod Elfrink.
The family is not ungrateful. In fact, just the opposite.
Until yesterday, they had opened and read every card (Nate is growing weaker, so church volunteers now gather, open and sort.) The cards, messages, personal notes and gifts have provided untold joy at a time when the family is hunkered down to cherish each day and pray for another.
Mr. Elfrink even stopped by the West Jefferson post office to offer to pick up the cards and save Handley the trouble.
No way, Postmistress
Danielle Eppley told him.
"They are such wonderful people," Eppley said. "We don't mind, and this is the least we can do."
But since Nate never really had a goal of a million cards to begin with, the Elfrinks are completely overwhelmed.
There are only so many hours in the day to open the mail and only so much space in their Madison County home.
"Every card, every good thought, it all means so much," Mr. Elfrink said. "But we've been blessed, so maybe a donation to hospice in Nate's honor could help so many more."
The cards have come from around the world.
Phone calls, too. An odd and unfamiliar number popped up over the weekend, and Mr. Elfrink answered to find an American soldier calling from an Army base in Afghanistan.
He didn't know the family but inquired about Nate's condition and wanted to know of his wants and wishes. The call had a profound effect.
"We should be thanking him for his service, not the other way around," Mr. Elfrink said. "The entire community has been behind us from Day 1. Now, maybe we can help someone else."
Good gesture but it show's that our country still cares about our own.
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/12/15/MANYCARDS.ART_ART_12-15-09_A1_V8G0GL7.html?sid=101
Good wishes envelop sick boy, family
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 3:04 AM
By Holly Zachariah
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
HOW TO HELP
* Donations earmarked for hospice in Nate Elfrink's name can be made to Nationwide Children's Hospital Foundation at nationwidechildrens.org or can be sent to the foundation at 700 Children's Dr., Columbus, OH 43205.[/size][/size]
Postal carrier Katy Handley rolled up to the Elfrink house in West Jefferson yesterday and dropped off the family's Christmas cards -- all 4,000 of them.
That was on top of the thousands she delivered Saturday, the thousands on Friday, the thousands ... well, you get the picture.
The cards are mostly from strangers, people respond-
ing to a ubiquitous online message and e-mail request that said 7-year-old Nate Elfrink, a brain-cancer patient now in hospice care, wanted to receive 1 million Christmas cards.
When the cards started rolling in last week, Dode McVey quickly realized a simple online message she wrote updating her son's condition and suggesting that he would appreciate cards had somehow gotten out of hand.
The good-hearted and well-meaning people who e-mailed her message en masse around the globe -- and posted it on Facebook and Twitter -- didn't just take it a step forward: "They took it up Mount Everest," said Nate's father, Tod Elfrink.
The family is not ungrateful. In fact, just the opposite.
Until yesterday, they had opened and read every card (Nate is growing weaker, so church volunteers now gather, open and sort.) The cards, messages, personal notes and gifts have provided untold joy at a time when the family is hunkered down to cherish each day and pray for another.
Mr. Elfrink even stopped by the West Jefferson post office to offer to pick up the cards and save Handley the trouble.
No way, Postmistress
Danielle Eppley told him.
"They are such wonderful people," Eppley said. "We don't mind, and this is the least we can do."
But since Nate never really had a goal of a million cards to begin with, the Elfrinks are completely overwhelmed.
There are only so many hours in the day to open the mail and only so much space in their Madison County home.
"Every card, every good thought, it all means so much," Mr. Elfrink said. "But we've been blessed, so maybe a donation to hospice in Nate's honor could help so many more."
The cards have come from around the world.
Phone calls, too. An odd and unfamiliar number popped up over the weekend, and Mr. Elfrink answered to find an American soldier calling from an Army base in Afghanistan.
He didn't know the family but inquired about Nate's condition and wanted to know of his wants and wishes. The call had a profound effect.
"We should be thanking him for his service, not the other way around," Mr. Elfrink said. "The entire community has been behind us from Day 1. Now, maybe we can help someone else."