Amid The Pokemon Card Craze, One Guy Is Giving Thousands Of Cards Away To Kids

Pokemon cards are all the rage right now, but one print shop owner is giving his cards away to kids for free. Derek Joyal of Warwick, Rhode Island said that he became unemployed during the COVID-19 pandemic and got back into collecting the cards as a hobby.

Because he had a little more time than usual on his hands, Joyal ended up buying thousands of cards, to the point where his office was overflowing with them. Joyal told local news outlet WJAR that seeing the recent spike in prices for the cards caused him to feel discouraged.

"I would see stuff online on the news that got very discouraging," he said. "You start hearing about something so simple as Pokémon cards and places being sold out of them and physical altercations occurring, people camping out just to try to get them, all the negative drawbacks that came from the whole thing."

As a result, Joyal is now giving away dozens of cards to local kids who can't find or afford the collectibles themselves. He set up a table at the print shop where he works and gave away sets out of a large bin that weighs 80 pounds. Dozens of grateful kids showed up to claim the cards. Joyal says he plans to give away all of the cards in the bin this week if possible.

Joyal isn't the only generous soul using Pokemon cards to make a difference. Recently, we wrote a story about an 8-year-old in Virginia who sold his Pokemon cards on his lawn in order to fund his puppy's life-saving medical procedure.