A group of Campolindo choir singers started Songrams, a virtual singing greeting card platform, to raise money for the Rainforest Trust, a non-profit organization that protects rainforests. The goal of Songrams, according to its website, is “to uplift others while raising awareness of climate change.”

Sophomore Stef Moore came up with the idea and “pitched it during Bel Canto,” according to Songrams member junior Madison Sutherland. Bel Canto is the specific choir they are in.

Other participants include junior Ruby Vanhouten, sophomore Samantha Davis, senior Reilly Yuen, and junior Lauren Cadotte.

“For making the videos Stef and Ruby tend to come up with the [harmonies] which we then record our audios and videos which we send in and it then gets put together by someone who is associated with Stef,” explained Sutherland.

There is a request form on the website, and cards are sent virtually with a personal message. The cards are free because the students “believe that a sustainable future first involves showing we care about each other,” but they suggest that a donation of $5 or more be made to Rainforest Trust.

Songrams has a variety of songs available for selection, ranging from “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars to “Happy Birthday” to “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. There are previews of some Songrams on the website.

The song list is “voted on by all of the members,” according to Sutherland, who “enjoy[s] all of the songs that [they] sing” but “especially the songs where [she gets] to play [her] viola as well,” such as in “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles.

Yuen said that she joined Songrams because “it was originally a group for caroling and little projects like that for the community.”

“…when Covid got worse in the winter, we began just recording pieces in preparation for those who wanted them. It was super fun to learn some cool parts of songs for our community and Stef organized [it] so well,” Yuen added.