Boys hope handmade cards will cheer COVID-19 patients

Manpreet Chadha and her husband, Krishdeep, both doctors, told their sons one evening about thank-you cards sent to health care workers at the hospital.

Their sons wondered whether patients, who can’t have visitors, were receiving cards, too.

“We realized that patients would be feeling lonely, and we wanted to bring some happiness to them,” said Hurshneet, who is 15.

Hurshneet and his brother, Pravneet, 12, gathered crayons, markers and cardstock and started making cards in their Peoria dining room.

Pravneet admits he’s not the best artist, but he doesn’t think it matters. “Our point of happiness gets across,” he said.

On the cards, they write uplifting quotes, such as “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward,” from the movie, “Rocky.”

“We want them to keep fighting their disease and not give up,” Hurshneet said.

The boys made their first delivery in May, 200 cards to Banner Estrella Medical Center. Since then, they have made and delivered 1,000 cards to hospitals and the Navajo Nation.

On Wednesday, they took cards and bags filled with water, food, cough drops, toiletries and other items to Circle the City, a nonprofit caring for people with COVID-19 who are homeless.

They sign the cards from “Project Smile AZ.” They created a Facebook page, asking others to make cards, too.

Pravneet imagines the cards on patients’ bedside tables or pinned on their walls.

“I hope they feel happy, and they have a smile on their faces,” he said. “We want them to know when they are alone, there still are many people who care about them and want them to get better.”

Making cards makes the boys feel better, too, something positive in a difficult time, and helps keep them from worrying about their parents.

“We’ll keep doing this as long as COVID-19 is here,” Hurshneet said. “We want to help.”