SMOA's Encouragement Cards: We Care. They Should Know.
SMOA understands that health care professionals are the chief soldiers in the war against COVID-19. To show our gratitude and provide encouragement, SMOA is creating encouragement cards that will be distributed at hospitals, clinics, and other medical care facilities. These cards are all hand-signed to show our sincerity (yes, all 10,000 cards), and we hope that any medical professional will receive a burst of energy knowing that we, students and community members, are endlessly grateful for their care and service.
Project Status: Completed Phase III
SMOA Project Design Ideology:
Phase I: Idea Genesis
In Phase I, SMOA thought about different mediums to convey our gratitude. We researched the influence of virtual vs. in-person displays of sincerity, as well as influence vs. time graphs. We decided that virtual cards would reach a wide audience, but would lack the hand-made authenticity and "holding something" feeling that in-person cards would provide. We also saw how unique messages on each card could create a larger impact, but to reach a wide audience in a timely manner, this would be infeasible. We decided to compromise and created mass-producible cards with 16 different messages, but decided to hand-sign each card to establish a more sincere feeling.
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Phase II: Card Construction + Assembly
SMOA engaged in a cross-county effort to produce and create these encouragement cards while practicing social distancing and all proper health and safety guidelines. SMOA conducted a brief feasibility study which answered the optimal ratio of colored to non-colored cards, and the optimal team members for each job (some team members had printers with lower ink/paper costs).
Pictured is Gabriel Otubu, Our Chief Communications Officer signing each card, while still being socially distant. Gabriel is ensuring that each material received by other team members goes through its own quarantine according to the material type. Upon completion, Gabriel will bag and box each group of cards, and prepare for a wipe-down with Lysol. |
Phase III: Local Distribution
Many of SMOA's parents and other supportive adults work in medical care facilities, making them optimal service delivery vectors. To ensure that all cards are safe and present no risk, all boxes are wiped down with disinfectant. In Phase III, SMOA plans to distribute 5,000 cards to 3 local health care facilities, including local hospitals and clinics. These cards are ideally placed in faculty mail boxes or common areas. SMOA also uses these cards as advertising, and on the back of each card, our free tutoring services are advertised.
Pictured is Howard County General Hospital, a location where we hope to distribute cards. |
Phase IV: National & International Distribution
In Phase IV, SMOA will distribute encouragement cards, "ear savers" and face shields to medical staff in the worst-hit areas by COVID 19. Such areas include New York, California and other hotspots. SMOA is currently working on the best way to deliver these cards while maintaining safe practices, and wise fiscal decisions.
Phase IV is a collaboration of 3 SMOA projects. |