Cards that plant the seed of gratitude for soldiers

To celebrate Independence Day and Rakhi, 21Fools. com has launched ‘Happiness Boxes’ for soldiers via Snapdeal Sunshine platform which is supporting this initiative this year. 

‘The Happiness Box’, containing gratitude letters, Thank You Seed Cards (which grow into marigold when planted), Rakhis and luggage tags can be ordered online. 

The team at 21 Fools will prepare and ship the ‘Happiness Boxes’ to different locations of Indian Army and Navy, based on allocation list received from them. Divyanshu Asopa, co-founder of 21 Fools, says “The Indian Army and Navy will take up responsibility of distributing the boxes to the soldiers guarding the country.” 

The cover of each card is a collage featuring portraits of 28 Indians representing the 28 states in the country, all clicked by amateur photographers. Each card costs Rs 50 and one can place mass orders and send 50 or 100 cards for Rs 2,500 and Rs 5,000 respectively. 

In 2013, the second year of the initiative, the company says it had received support from celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan who sent the messages to soldiers and conveyed gratitude to them. The support from the netizens helped in sending 10,000 thank you cards, letters and rakhis to soldiers posted in Northern Command. 

After a gap of 2 years, the initiative has been launched again. “In 2013, after the thank you cards were delivered to soldiers, I received a phone call at 6 am from a soldier who had to walk down miles to his base to make a phone call. He thanked me and the person whose name was written as a sender in the card he received and told me that he will carry the card back home and show it to his family. That call inspires me to take this initiative ahead,” says Asopa. 

A seed paper grows into a plant when planted inside the soil. Since the last two years the company says it has been able to inspire over a million people to grow a plant using their paper products.