I want it to be something special that brings them joy. 

When she’s not in New York, Tracee is in Mississippi with her grandmother. “She broke her leg last year,” says Tracee, “so I’ve had to spend more time with her.” Tracee’s grandmother is 99 years old. She still lives in her home, where Tracee and her mother take turns providing for her care. 

“Really, because of my grandma, I started having a heart for our elders,” says Tracee. “Because my grandma has me and my mom, but a lot of people don’t have that.” 

When looking for ways to help her older neighbors, Tracee needed something that she could do from anywhere, even Mississippi. Citymeals’ handmade cards program was the perfect fit. Volunteers can create cards for specific holidays or a simple “thinking of you.” Each card is delivered along with a meal, a reminder to those who receive them that, even if they can’t leave their house or apartment, they haven’t been forgotten by their community.

“I know my grandma loves to get mail, even if it’s junk mail,” said Tracee. “So I can imagine, getting a card with your meal, how special that can be.” 

Tracee has been volunteering with Citymeals since 2023. That first year, she made over 300 cards. “I was a machine!” she says with a laugh. “It kind of became my thing.” Now, whenever Tracee is feeling inspired, she breaks out her crafting supplies. “One card usually takes me an hour or an hour and a half to do because I want it to be beautiful,” she says. “I want it to look like a piece of art, so I really take my time with them. I want it to be something special that brings them joy. Something they can cherish.”

Since she made her first card, Tracee has gone on to make over 600. She’s completed roughly 100 this year alone. She plans to double that by Christmas. “I never knew that I would love it, but I do,” says Tracee. “It’s very therapeutic.”

She’s also encouraged others in her life to get involved—from an artist friend in Chicago to her neighbor in Mississippi, a teacher and turned it into an activity for her elementary school class. “You don’t have to be Van Gogh,” says Tracee. “Whatever season or holiday you like, you can make cards for that. Get some friends together and have a card-making party. You can make it fun!”