Man sends thousands of Christmas cards to Texas school districts
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- School districts across the Houston area and across the state will be receiving a bit of Christmas cheer in the mail from a man who is determined to spread appreciation and joy this holiday season.
"Christmas is both the most exciting and simultaneously the most depressing time of the year," said Matthew Conley, the creator of CrossInk Creations, a ministry.
For 13 years, 24-year-old Conley has made it his mission to send a Christmas card to every single employee in Cleburne Independent School District, where he went to school.
Because of this year's challenges, Conley decided he would expand his Christmas card list to include every single school district in the state of Texas.
"I feel that teachers are underappreciated and they've been through a hard year," he said.
And that's not all. He also included cards for hospitals, police departments and churches.
"Unfortunately, when you do more than 2,300 cards, handwriting is slow," Conley said. "I had to de-personalize it a bit and stick to labels. It was a lot more efficient."
The label reads: "CrossInk Creations thanks you for your never-ending efforts during this hard year. Stay Blessed! Merry Christmas."
Conley said he accumulated the cards through donations and purchasing them on sale after Christmas. As for the stamps, which cost hundreds of dollars, the majority of them were donated.
He hopes the cards will bring some comfort and encouragement during what has been an incredibly challenging year.
"This controversial year has been filled with a lack of that, and I felt that I really had to just get that out," he said.
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