10 The Greeting Card Association launches initiative to inspire next generation of card senders The Greeting Card Association (GCA) has launched a new, free initiative – Card Club – inviting children aged four to 11 to explore the joy of card making, writing, and sending cards. The initiative has been created in collaboration with a qualified teacher, who has trialled it in their classroom and had highly positive feedback from teachers and pupils alike. This exciting project encourages children to connect with friends and family while developing literacy, handwriting, and emotional communication skills. The GCA has launched a toolkit for the Card Club, which provides a simple, structured way for teachers and club organisers to engage children in meaningful activities. With lesson plans and creative ideas included, the toolkit ensures participation is easy, fun, and rewarding. Card sending helps keep a cherished British tradition alive - Brits sends more cards than any other nation on earth. Cards offer a tangible way to stay in touch and creates a strong emotional connection between the person that sends a card and the person that receives it. By launching Card Club, children can learn empathy, express their feelings and understand the value of doing something special for others which is why this initiative is so important. “There’s no need for a special occasion to send a card – sometimes a simple ‘Hello’, ‘Thinking of You’ or similar message can brighten someone’s day,” said GCA chief executive officer Amanda Fergusson. “The Card Club is a wonderful way to inspire children to make, write, connect, and spread joy, while also enhancing their literacy skills.” On Monday 24th November, GCA member Rebecca Green co-founder of card designer Raspberry Blossom set up two card club sessions at her children’s local school, aimed at year five students. The session involved creating hand-made Christmas cards with special messages for loved ones. Rebecca from Raspberry Blossom said: “It was such a heart-warming experience visiting Milverton Primary School to support the Card Club with two year five sessions. The children loved talking about who they send cards to and all the different occasions they celebrate.” Visit: www.gca.cards Stabilo launches the ‘Cute Edition’ range stationery brand, STABILO, has launched the ‘Cute Edition’ product range, aimed at sparking creativity amongst children through design and emotion.Heritage stationery brand, STABILO, is kicking off the new year with a product range extension – introducing The Cute Edition – Animal Vibes, the perfect pencil case refresh for school children. The Cute Edition range comprises of new designs for BOSS mini, point 88 & Pen 68 and Trio thick, all of which have been designed based on animal characters, each representing a specific emotion. Featuring characters including the Sleepy Sloth and Curious Meerkat, the range has been designed to create excitement for children but also to engage with emotions that are easy to recognise. By incorporating emotions and characters, STABILO is encouraging a way for children to interact with their emotions, whilst making the creative experience fun and educational. STABILO’s product ranges usually target six- to nine-yearolds through its functional products, but more recently, there has been a demand for engaging and emotive products, with children naturally being drawn to designs that are tailored to their interests. Through market research with InnoLab, with more than 200 children participating, STABILO found that animal themed products were a firm favourite amongst a mixed gender target group. The affordable products have been priced accordingly with children’s pocket money in mind and are available from Amazon, Ryman’s and other stationery retailers. Shahbaz Khan, marketing director UK/Ireland said: “Our design team are always looking at ways we can create a functional product, with a creative twist and they have achieved just that. We hope that children enjoy using this new range to be creative through design.” For more information, visit: www.stabilo.com/uk
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