Compassion boxes

In March 2016, a local small business had some small boxes it couldn't use and asked if we could do something with them. We came up with the idea of compassion boxes: small boxes with a personalized card and something fun inside, such as a stress-reducing squeeze ball, coloring sheets, snacks and jokes.

With their permission, we first mailed compassion boxes to callers. In 2018, we partnered with the newly formed Youth Mobile Crisis Intervention Services team to have these boxes reach even more teens. As the staff from this team meet with youth experiencing a mental health crisis, they share some anonymous kindness and support from us. We put in a great deal of time decorating these boxes and writing a card of hope and kindness to tuck inside each one, with no two boxes or cards being alike.

Since starting these in 2017, we made

compassion boxes
​for youth experiencing a mental health crisis