ith cards from Boston-area nonprofit organizations, the happy wishes you send can also help those in need this holiday season. Many of the cards are designed by local artists, and the bulk of the proceeds go to fund the organizations themselves.
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In addition to its signature card (a pair of strong arms holding a loaf of hearty bread fresh from the oven), Project Bread is offering two more cards this year. One is a watercolor of two doves by New Jersey artist Thomas Nelson. The other, in watercolor and digital media, is by Boston-based graphic artist and illustrator Anne Payne.
''It's a great opportunity for me to be able to work with them and do something that I love for a nonprofit organization,'' Payne said. She is working on other designs for her own line of cards, Canard and Poisson, on sale next year.
The cards are available online at www.projectbread.org, at local Barnes & Nobel bookstores, and by calling Project Bread at 617-723-5000. A pack of 10 cards costs $12, and 82 percent of the sales go directly to the organization. Each pack sold provides enough money to buy 70 pounds of food for a food pantry, one week's supply of groceries for a small family, or a bowl of soup and a sandwich for 25 people at a shelter or soup kitchen, according to Project Bread representative Kelly Richards.
The Friends of Boston's Homeless are offering four cards, all designed by Boston's ''Pavement Picasso,'' Sidewalk Sam (whose real name is Robert Guillemin). The cards with drawings of local winter scenes are $10 for a pack of 10, and proceeds go to the organization. They can be purchased directly from Friends of Boston's Homeless by calling 617-534-2526, ext. 385. They are also available at Indigena, 4244 South St., Jamaica Plain and will be featured at the Dec. 1 holiday crafts fair at the First Church Unitarian Universalist, off of Centre Street in Jamaica Plain.
The Pine Street Inn is a veteran in the local holiday card business. Each year, Newburyport artist Kevin Shea donates a painting to the shelter for its cards. This year, two new cards join the Pine Street collection.
''No Two Alike,'' by South End artist Lisa Houck, features a triptych of trees. Some of Houck's work is currently on exhibit at Logan Airport. ''We just approached her, and she was thrilled,'' said Shepley Metcalf, Pine Street's director of communications. ''She's been in the Boston area for a long time and knew of Pine Steet.''
The other card is by Camilla Armstrong, known for her bright, intricate ''tablescapes.'' It is called ''Heart, Flight, Freedom'' and is a detail from a much larger oil-on-canvas work called ''Caged Heart II.''
The cards cost $15 for 10 and are available online at www.pinestreetinn.org and in local Barnes & Nobel stores.
The Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless has a new twist on spreading comfort and joy. It is selling house-shaped cookies from Boston-based Dancing Deer Baking Co. as part of the One Family Initiative, which provides direct aid to individual families. The crispy, lemon-butter or chocolate cookies are $24 for a dozen and are shipped on your behalf with customized messages. Call 617-423-9162 or order from www.dancingdeer.com/sweethome.
The Jimmy Fund's cards raise money for cancer care and research. They're available at www.jimmyfund.org and by calling 978-887-3662. Printed on recycled paper, sets of 15 cards or 40 postcards cost $25 per set.
Finally, there's always UNICEF, which has been offering cards since 1949. This year, there are the brightly colored whimsical children's drawings as well as several elegant, understated motifs. Cards cost $12 for 10 at Pier 1 Imports, Staples, and Stop & Shop stores. For a complete list of stores that sell UNICEF cards, go to unicefusa.org or call 800-367-5437.
