As a service learning project for one of her classes at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC), Andrea Lynch, a junior digital media communications major with a minor in film studies and creative writing, is making and collecting cards that will be distributed to people who are hospitalized during the holiday season.

Lynch, who is originally from Greenfield, Ind., but now lives in Chula Vista, Calif., is a member of an international online artist community called deviantART, and she received a news notice on her account that the community was holding a card drive.

The purpose of the deviantART Holiday Card Project is to create holiday cards for people who are hospitalized during the holiday season. The idea behind the project is to simply try and bring a little cheer to those who are undergoing hospital stay.

“I wanted to get involved in this project because I think that the winter holidays are a unique time of year,” Lynch said. “They can be warm, loving, and bring out the best in some people. They can also be sad and hard for those who have lost loved ones and are ill. I like to spread holiday cheer and make arts and crafts, so this is really the perfect event for me.”

The work that Lynch is doing for the deviantART Holiday Card Project will count towards the service learning hours that are required in her Introduction to Theology class at SMWC. Service learning is an experiential method of teaching and learning by which designated course goals are achieved through significant community service and subsequent reflection thus developing in participants an ethic of service.

At SMWC students may choose from several courses that incorporate service learning, such as English, education or theology. The College has several reasons for incorporating service learning into its classes. Not only does service learning allow students to combine action and theory into authentic learning, but the College's mission and its motto – Virtue (strength) and knowledge united – also support and enhance the value of service learning.

For her service learning project, Lynch approached the SMWC community to make and donate cards, and she has hosted several card-making sessions, sharing construction paper, cardboard, markers, crayons, colored pencils, and ribbon with those who want to make cards but do not have their own materials. So far, Lynch has received about 50 cards.

The cards will be sent to deviantART who will then distribute the cards to both U.S. and international hospitals. The patients who receive the cards age in range from children to seniors and have illness or injuries that vary from mild to terminal.

To submit cards for the deviantART, contact Andrea Lynch at amlynch@smwc.edu by Dec. 6, or cards can be mailed to deviantART, Inc., Holiday Card Project, 7095 Hollywood Blvd., #788, Hollywood, CA 90028. Deadline for receipt of cards is Dec. 15. More information about the deviantART Holiday Card Project can be found online at http://news.deviantart.com/article/61965/. You can also visit the WTWO website to see a story about SMWC's contributions to the deviantART Holiday Card Project.