North Columbus News

Faculty, staff, and students at The Ohio State University gathered at the Ohio Union on Thursday to participate in "Cookies and Cards with Cheryl," part of the Buckeye Love celebration. This event was organized by the Office of Student Life to coincide with National Make a Card for a Friend Day.

Throughout February, members of the Ohio State community will engage in random acts of kindness during various campus events. These activities include surprising people with treats and sharing messages of gratitude. Additionally, signs featuring uplifting messages will be displayed across campus.

Participants worked alongside Cheryl Lyons, director of Student Life Disability Services, in this inaugural "Cookies and Cards with Cheryl" event. Tracy Stuck, assistant vice president of Student Life, noted that Lyons' card-making skills inspired the program. "Cheryl is a really good card-maker, so we devised a program for her," Stuck said. "She makes cards for everyone, and we decided to use our staff talents to make this a part of Buckeye Love."

Lyons emphasized how making personalized cards aligns with Buckeye Love's theme of spreading kindness. She shared her long-standing hobby: "I've been a card-maker for many, many years as a personal hobby," she said. "I try to bring that into other acts of service by donating to different charitable organizations that collect cards and give them to a variety of populations that may be in need."

During the event, participants enjoyed cookies while collaborating on card designs using provided supplies and ideas. Lyons explained the approach: “We’re inviting folks in, giving them lots of fun supplies with inspirational quotes and images and some additional tips that they might not normally use to design a card,” she said.

Graduate student Ria Martins found an outlet for creativity through the event: “I had never heard about Make a Card for a Friend Day,” she said. “This is the first time I was hearing about it, and I had time, so I felt like [participating].”

Spencer Litzenberger from the Office of Student Life’s BuckID unit appreciated the significance of handmade cards: “Getting a card like this...is just a really nice thing and something you don’t see very often," he remarked.

For more information about Buckeye Love events throughout February, visit kind.osu.edu.