TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. — A new local partnership is inspiring kindness and friendship.
The Focus Forward adult day program, which serves adults with developmental disabilities, and the Little St. Nick Foundation are joining forces to bring joy and comfort to children in hospitals.
This collaborative effort allows young adults ages 22-30 with developmental disabilities to engage in a heartwarming project: creating get-well cards for young hospital patients.
"We just want you to know that we love you and you are so strong and also, we would like for you to be our friend," said Focus Forward client Jack Webb, reading from a card he'd written.
Webb and the dozens of other clients at the Forward Focus program are making the colorful cards in the hopes they will be healing for the recipients.
"P.S. God wants you to feel better and spend time with your family and friends," read Keith Garey from a card of his own.
For weeks now, clients of Focus Forward have been creating the "get well" cards to be added to care packages distributed by the Little Saint Nick Foundation.
"The gift bags are all given to kids in local hospitals when they first enter to kind of take away some of that fear and anxiety they have of being in an unfamiliar place and a scary situation that they might not know why they're there for," said Will White, Chief Gifting Officer for the Little Saint Nick Foundation.
Tucked among toys and games, White said the cards play an important role.
"They honestly play probably with the most significant part of the bag because it shows that there are other people out there who want to see them get better," White said.
The Focus Forward clients hope those kids will be excited to see their cards.
"All of these sick kids in the hospital, they're going to be happy and pleased," Webb said.
According to the Focus Forward team, creating that happiness is the reward itself for their clients.
"It's all completely intrinsic. Everything that they get out of it is they feel good about themselves. They really want to do what they can to make an impact," said Focus Forward Supervisor Miranda Horr.