Want to Thank a Health Care Worker? Say It With a Card

Like many in the Bay Area, Calisa Hildebrand was looking for a local solution to address the lack of protective gear. She ended up starting a collection point at her local market — Gus’s on Haight Street. In addition to coordinating the personal protective equipment drop-off point, she wanted people to be able to contribute in a more personal way. She worked with her friend Paloma Figueroa, who works as a consultant for diversity and inclusion, to coordinate with nurses at UCSF. They have now launched a grassroots letter-writing effort to thank health workers.

Figueroa and Hildebrand mailed the first round of cards to nurses at UCSF. Since then, they’ve coordinated at least 140 letters in just the past few weeks. “This goes beyond San Francisco … we’ll take names of any health worker, anywhere, and volunteers from anywhere,” Hildebrand said.

For Hildebrand, the project is personal because she survived cancer a couple of years ago.

“The health system literally saved my life,” she said. “The doctors and the nurses and the oncologists and everybody was just so incredible and so responsive, I will forever be grateful to them.”

Now that she’s healthy, she’s doing what she can to let health care workers know they’re appreciated — and encouraging others to do the same.

Hildebrand also said that this small act of gratitude is a practice in “collective togetherness.” Many people feel overwhelmed, stressed or scared, but “what is so beautiful about this project is that when we do good things for people, we also feel better about ourselves … with minimal effort — we’re able to make a positive impact.”

Even before the first thank you card drop-off, when Figueroa’s friend at UCSF told another nurse that the notes were coming, she started crying. “These are just normal people that want to give back and are appreciative of everything that you [health care workers] are all doing and you’re risking your lives for us and we want to do what we can,” she said.

The project has evolved quickly, with friends jumping in to help with a website where all information on donating PPE, as well as letter-writing, can be found.

“We just started posting on Instagram and texting friends and asking if people wanted to help us write letters,” Hildebrand said. As the project progressed, more people began to write in with requests — with friends or siblings in various locations.

“I collect the names of the health workers that are submitted to us and then I assign out a health worker or multiple health workers for each volunteer.” The volunteer writes a letter, and then the letters are sent out. “It’s pretty simple,” Hildebrand said.

A minor challenge so far is that some people don’t have stationary or paper around the house. Hildebrand is working with a graphic designer friend to make postcards for those who do not have card-making supplies readily available.

For those without supplies there are some similar campaigns, such as the “Thank a nurse for their service” email campaign sponsored by National Nurses United. Hildebrand’s campaign is unique, in part, because it is also something parents can do with kids.

She’s also working on ways of figuring out how to best thank others on the front lines, such as farmworkers and essential workers in homeless services or others who may not be categorized as health care workers, but are still essential workers. “We’ll take volunteers and we’ll take names from anyone,” Hildebrand said.

For those wondering if writing letters is safe, Hildebrand recommends writers wash hands before beginning their note. She also recommends using a sticker stamp (rather than one you lick) and to seal the envelope, she suggests, using a damp towel to avoid any possible contamination.

To sign up to write a letter or suggest a letter be mailed to someone contact: Thankourhealthworkers@gmail.com