When Athens Academy fourth grader Cardy Pennington saw the news coverage of the destruction caused by the earthquake in Haiti on Jan. 12, she told her mother, Laura, that the family had to do something.

Laura assured her daughter that they would send a donation to help with the relief effort, but Cardy had bigger plans. 

“Oh, we can do better than that,” Cardy told her mom the weekend after the earthquake.

Cardy and her mother brainstormed, taking into account the time of year and the need to chose an undertaking that would be financially feasible for people to contribute to.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, Cardy decided that everyone would be buying cards to send to loved ones, and thought people might appreciate a Valentine’s card a little bit extra if they knew the proceeds were going to a good cause.

And so, the A Heart for Haiti project, originally intended to be a weekend project over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, began. 

The Oconee County 10-year-old set to work designing cards, which were later printed by Bel-Jean Copy-PrintCenter in Athens, as well as Athens Printing. 

Cardy and her mother brought the cards to an Oconee Youth Playhouse production of Grease, where the project raised over $700 in just one night. 

Still, Cardy told her mother they could do more.

“You know mom, if we can make $700 in 24 hours, how many 24 hours are there until Valentine’s Day?”

In addition to the same need to help felt by people throughout the world, Cardy had a personal reason for wanting to contribute.

For several years, Cardy has had a Haitian pen pal, Sandie, who she has kept up with, and Cardy’s uncle and cousin recently returned from a mission trip to Haiti, where they visited St. Boniface Hospital in Fond des Blancs, Haiti. The hospital is one of the remaining hospitals in Haiti that was not badly damaged by the earthquake, and so it is receiving many of the victims of the disaster.

Cardy has sent a letter to Sadie to ask after her, but the Penningtons aren’t expecting a response for a few months. 

Cardy enlisted the help of her friends to draw designs, and area businesses began carrying the cards in their stores. A University of Georgia sorority heard about the idea and wanted to get involved, and Cardy and her friends were invited to the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house to share the project with them. Since then, most of the university’s sororities and fraternities have gotten involved.

In two weeks, more than 7,000 cards have been distributed, and Cardy plans to continue the project until Valentine’s Day. People from the area have contacted the Pennington’s through the project’s website, aheartforhaiti.org, and almost 150 children have submitted designs for the cards.

As a result of their efforts, Cardy and some of her friends were invited to meet Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp and Senator Bill Cowsert at the state capitol this morning. 

“It turned out to be a much bigger project than I thought and that’s a very good thing,” said Cardy. “I hope that this will make (the Haitian people) feel like we’re thinking of them.”

The suggested donation for the cards is $1, although any donation is accepted in stores.

Cards can be purchased through the website, or locations throughout Oconee County and Athens. Participating supporters include Southern Belles and Beaus, Sunshine Village, Appointments at Five, Slippers at Five Points, all locations of First American Bank and Trust, Plain Jane’s, and the downtown Athens location of Starbucks.

Anna Dolianitis is a reporter for The Oconee Leader. She can be reached at 706-310-1104 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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