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Greeting cards brought to life on sidewalks to honor front-line workers

Posted at 8:24 AM, May 05, 2020
and last updated 2020-05-05 10:24:48-04

KANSAS CITY – Our neighborhoods are full of inspirational messages right now. But for two artists who usually design greeting cards, their creations are deeply personal.

"As artists, we were kind of like, ‘what can we do right now to really inspire people and bring our creativity to life?’ So, we all started talking about these driveway cards," said Hallmark artist Amber Goodvin.

You'll usually see Goodvin's artwork on a Hallmark greeting card. Now, it has come to life in her Kansas City-area neighborhood.

The message on her sidewalk card says, "caring heart, capable hands, incredible courage."

"I think everybody right now knows somebody in their life who is kind of being a hero right now and having to find that courage just to go to work every day," said Goodvin.

Hallmark artist Chris Russell's message on his sidewalk card is "not all heroes wear caps." His family is proof of that.

"She's always been a superhero to our family, and she would never ask for any credit or want any extra pats on the back," said Russell.

He's talking about his wife, who is a nurse. She’s not asking for any recognition but is honored by the love she and so many other front-line workers have been getting from across the country.

"She's been kind of blown away at how fun and encouraging people have been and supportive. Not just her but to ER doctors, postal workers. It doesn't just start and stop at the hospital," said Russell.

"I'm just moved by their stories of the courage that they're having to muster to go to work and then go home and see their families," said Goodvin.

Goodwin's niece is a nurse too, along with some of her friends.

She hopes her art lets them know what they're doing really matters.

"My hope would be that if anybody sees my piece that they would just feel encouraged by it and maybe they would take that encouragement and pass it onto someone else and reach out to someone in their life that needs that encouragement right now," said Goodvin.