What do you do when a friend is diagnosed with cancer? There are no words and most actions seem so trivial. A little while back I participated in a pretty neat well wishes campaign. My friend Craig had a friend who had just recently received the bad news. In a flash of insight, he decided to launch Operation Overflowing Mailbox. He wrote to everyone he knew and asked them to send a simple note or greeting card with a word or encouragement to his friend on a specific day. His goal was to have all the cards and wellwishes flood her mailbox as a tangible sign of support.

Overall, she received 116 greeting cards, plust 150 handmade cards from two elementary schools. Of course, most of the people who particpated didn't even know her -- they were friends with Craig. But that's part of what made it so powerful. A mailbox stuffed with cards from friends AND strangers (as shown in the photo at right) make a very powerful impact indeed. Here's a snippet of an email she wrote to Craig:

"Many of you wrote and opened your heart to a perfect stranger! I was overwhelmed with emotion and tears as I opened every card. I will long remember this time and all the goodness people shared with me. And the cards came during a particularly hard time - so great timing - it helped pull me through. I will be forever grateful."

Adultitis-Fighting Tip: I guess I'm on a snail mail kick, since last week's tip was related to it and this week's is as well. It's just that it creates such an opportunity to reach out in a powerful way now that e-mail and text messaging has become the norm. Do you know someone who is going through a tough time? Why not launch your own Operation Overflowing Mailbox campaign. Reach out to all of your contacts for help and you'll be surprised how many come forward. Heck, I didn't even know this lady but I thought it was such a neat idea and an easy way to help that I couldn't help but participate.

Stay young and stay fun,