Hope Crane Project
Volunteer Guidelines
The Hope Crane Project offers University of Michigan psychiatry inpatients an
origami box and crane handmade by volunteers as a gift from Psychiatry Patient &
Family Centered Care whose mission is to promote, cultivate and celebrate health
care guided by patients and families. An accompanying note expresses the wish that
the gift inspires hope during the person’s hospital stay and beyond. Recipients are
patients on the Child/Adolescent and Adult Units and in the Electroconvulsive
Therapy and Eating Disorders Program.
Thank you for your time and energy in making boxes and cranes for the Hope Crane
Project. Your participation is much appreciated and an essential part of ensuring
the project’s success.
The following are guidelines for making the origami boxes and cranes. Please feel
free to contact us at hopecraneproject@gmail.com if you have any questions or to
set up a Hope Crane Project workshop for your group or organization. Thanks again
for your valued contribution.
Origami Cranes
Paper: Please use origami paper sized 6 x 6 (some paper says 5 7/8, which is just
fine). This paper is available locally in Ann Arbor at Hollander’s as well as Michael’s
and most craft stores with many online sources. You do not need double sided
paper for the cranes, but this works as well.
Instructions: You are welcome to contact us for a personalized workshop. Other
resources are the attached origami crane instructions and a You Tube video at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSijU52XJ7w
Tools: Paper and optional bone folder. Bone folders are a hand tool used to fold and
crease paper and can generally be purchased where you buy the paper as well as
Target. An economical option is getting a wooden paint stick from the hardware
store and cutting it down to ~ 5 inches and sanding the sides.
Origami Boxes
Paper: Please use scrapbook weight paper sized 6 x 6. For each box you will need 8
sheets of the 6 x 6 paper. The Recollections Brand scrapbook paper sold at
Michael’s is ideal as it comes in pads of 12 x 12 sheets that can easily be cut to 6 x 6.
Please note that it is crucial for the paper to be cut exactly to size or the box corners
won’t fit together well. If you need to cut a large stack of paper, it is easy and cheap
to have this done at places like Office Max.
Instructions: Unless you are experienced with origami, we suggest arranging a
workshop to learn how to make these fun boxes. Follow-up resources are the
worksheet, which you will receive in the workshop, as well as You Tube videos:
How to Fold the Box Top
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o08E7mmuBk
How to Fold the Box Base
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ86pXRbo18
Tools: Paper, bone folder, chopstick.
Important Note on Paper Design
We welcome your creativity in design and color choices. In respect of the diversity
of the recipients, please avoid paper designs using words, holiday and birthday
themes or specific school color combinations. There are a lot of lovely designs in the
Recollections Series; some suggestions are the Paisley and Damask, Fashionably
Chic, Basics Bold, and Mosaic Memories.
Hope Crane Project Donation
When you are ready to donate boxes and/or cranes for the project, please contact us
at hopecraneproject@gmail.com to arrange for pick up or drop off. The Hope Crane
Project greatly appreciates you. Thanks for caring about mental health and
improving the experience of patients.