Would you like to send a postcard asking for change in Canada’s eating disorders policy?

A postcard has quite a simple equation: paper + image + text + address. Here we try to share how PostED addressed each of these ingredients to create postcards for change.

What do we use for paper?

A cost-effective way of producing home-made postcards is buying large white posters, and then cutting them to a postcard size and in whatever shape you think would be most effective. There is the option of buying pre-made blank postcards at office supplies stores. Another alternative if they do not have pre-made postcards is to buy blank greeting cards, cut them along the seam, and…eureka! Two blank postcards are born.

What do we use as images?

Whatever people want to express! Our images are as diverse as our postcard creators. We ask people to draw or write whatever answer they have to this guiding question: “What does a community that supports people with eating disorders and mental wellness look like to you?” or What positive change do you want to see so that people with eating disorders are supported in Canada? Each postcard is a unique interpretation of these questions, whether it displays words or drawings or both.

What do we use as text?

Below is a sample of the basic  text used by PostED. This is a general template of the features that we would like to see in a national Eating Disorders strategy, but please feel free to adapt the message so that it reflects what you would like to say. That can include sharing a story of your own experience with Eating Disorders, or how you have seen the challenges posed by eating disorders in the people around you.

What do we use as an address?

This is really asking: who to send your postcard to? The choice is yours! In Canada, you can mail any member of parliament at the federal level free of charge. They have a common address, as shown above in the postcard template. PostED focused on sending postcards to the following representatives at the federal level (although note that since that time, many of these representatives have changed):

• Justin Trudeau, Prime Minster, MP for Paineau
• Jane Philpott, Minister of Health, MP for Markham-Stoufville
• Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, MP for Etobicoke North
• Thomas Mulcair, Leader of the NDP, MP for Outremont
• Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party, MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands
• Rona Ambrose, Interim Leader of the Conservative Party, MP for Edmonton Spruce Grove