Inclusive cards for Valentine's Day

Made-in-B.C. valentines aim to include everyone Ross. McLaughlin looks at some Valentine's Day cards that aim to leave no one out, and raise money at the same time.

VANCOUVER — Valentine’s Day is coming up and if you are having difficulty finding the right card, there may be a solution for you. London Drugs has created a new card aisle for Valentine’s Day that tries to leave no one out while at the same time raising money for United Way.

They are selling unique, Canadian-made inclusive cards that feature different languages, genders and sexual orientations, as well as cards that recognize health-care and essential workers who’ve been dealing with the pandemic.

“You are not in my bubble but you’re in my heart,” said London Drugs store manager Edwin Chang while reading one of the cards on display.

Others are aimed at essential workersl, like one that reads, "Thanks for putting your heart on the front line."

There are many different types of diverse cards on the stand that deal with the changing times and different kinds of love too.

Some of the messages include, "I’m glad we both swiped right," "Our story is digital but our love is real," and "I love that we can borrow each other’s clothes.”

There are Indigenous-themed cards and others that express love in different languages too.

The cards sell for $5 each and all the money goes to the United Way COVID Response and Recovery Fund.

“I just think it’s so great to reimagine Valentine’s Day as sharing love to everyone that’s important in our communities,” said Kim Winchell, with the Lower Mainland United Way.

This is the second year the inclusive cards have been available. Last year’s Valentine’s Day cards included the LGBTQ+ community.

Vancouver artist Mustaali Raj was one of many chosen to design the cards for sale this year.

He created a card written in two different scripts of the Punjabi language.

“Hopefully, it’s something we see a lot more of and it just becomes a norm,” he said.