It seems that we could all use a little hope these days, and my heart was warmed when I found out about Hope is in the Cards, a campaign which allows everyone to give a little encouragement and hope to those in their lives who may be going through a rough patch. What is Hope is in the Cards?

The “Hope is in the Cards” campaign was started by small business owner Russ Haan to help lift the nation’s spirit by encouraging people to send 300 million greeting cards by mail. His goal is to spread optimism during these tough economic times by sending messages of encouragement to friends and loved ones.

The Week of Hope starts today, September 1, 2009, and runs through September 7, and Cardstore.com is participating in a big way with the campaign. Their Hope Collection, live on the Cardstore site today, was created for the Week of Hope, and customers can choose one free personalized card from the collection this week, add their own message and/or photos, and Cardstore will print it and mail it to anyone that they choose, worldwide, for free. Pretty awesome, huh? Use code SENDHOPE by September 7, 2009 at midnight PST to send your free card.

Cardstore has created a lovely video for the Week of Hope, and you can watch it and link to it here. They are also having a stationery giveaway, which you can find out more about here.

You can see a full list of shops which are participating in the Week of Hope here. I spotted Feterie on the list, and they’re offering free postage with every order of their Savor the Sentiments card this week.

Spread the word about the Week of Hope!

image from Cardstore.com