Thousands Join Amy Grant, Pitney Bowes, Red Cross in Sending Holiday Greetings to Military
Thursday, November 12, 2009 — Pitney Bowes Inc. and the American Red Cross invite you to send holiday cards to service members, veterans and military families.
That’s what hundreds of people did during Veterans Day on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
After resting with coffee and snacks available to the crowd from a Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle, a couple selected cards to personalize. “When I was in Vietnam the Red Cross helped me out more than once with little things that wouldn’t mean much to anyone not on the battlefield—just little things—like a hot cup of coffee,” the man recalled. “These cards are one of those kinds of things.”
Under a Red Cross field tent filled with tables and stacks of blank holiday cards, three high school girls penned messages in alternating red and green ink. The girls, on a field trip from their hometown of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, were looking for a coffee shop when they happened upon Red Cross national headquarters. “We got to hear Amy Grant, thank our soldiers and have coffee,” said one girl as she put on her zebra-striped gloves and continued with her group to Arlington National Cemetery.
A woman sat alone in front of a stack of cards. She heard about the card signing from her church, Maryland’s First Baptist Church of Glenarden. “I’m going to be here awhile,” she smiled, as she carefully placed another completed card into the screening bin. “This is the most important thing I can do today.”
The commanding officer of the Army’s First Infantry Division, the Big Red One, stopped by on his way to officiate at Veterans Day ceremonies on the National Mall. Just returning from a tour of duty himself, the commander spoke from personal experience when he said, “It’s so important when we get cards from home.”
Send Your Cards by Dec. 7
Everyone can participate in the Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign.
“This is a special mission for the Red Cross,” said American Red Cross president and CEO Gail McGovern. “Help us bring some joy and love to someone in the military this holiday season.”
McGovern noted that there are 1.4 million active duty members, reservists and guards, and more than 24 million veterans. Tens of thousands of these men and women are not going to be home for the holidays.
Send your holiday card to the following post office box through Monday, December 7:
Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456
Received cards will be screened for hazardous materials. “From Boston to Spokane,” commented Jon Love, president of Pitney Bowes Government Solutions, “Pitney Bowes employees are ready to ensure that every card gets to its proper destination—which is in the hands of a hero.”
After screening, cards will be sorted and packaged. Then your cards will be delivered to military bases and hospitals, veteran’s hospitals and other locations in the U.S. and abroad during the holidays.
Nothing could be simpler than preparing your holiday greetings. Review these dos and don’ts. Then sign your card, address it and drop it in the mail.
Make Holiday Mail for Heroes a Tradition in Your Life
Important.
That’s how deputy commander of the National Naval Medical Center, Daniel Zinder, summed up the holiday card program.
To demonstrate how much a simple card can matter, Dr. Zinder repeated the words of his commanding officer: There are two things that motivate service members—love of family and knowing their nation is behind them. “This card program let’s our service members know the nation is behind them,” Dr. Zinder said.
The 2009 Holiday Season is the third year Pitney Bowes and the Red Cross have partnered to ensure that greetings from a grateful public are delivered to service members, veterans and military families.
Individuals, families and groups have added Holiday Mail for Heroes to their annual holiday activities. As a result, the number of greeting cards received by U. S. military members and veterans has increased each year, from 600,000 in 2007 to more than 1.4 million last year.
Pitney Bowes provides all screening, packaging and shipping at no charge. In addition, Pitney Bowes employees provide thousands of volunteer hours to the campaign.
During November and December Red Cross volunteers at more than 300 chapters nationwide are sorting and delivering the cards to military bases and to military and veteran’s hospitals.
Follow the Campaign on Social Media
Facebook. Become a fan of the American Red Cross Facebook Page to receive latest news and updates throughout the course of the Holiday Mail for Heroes program. You can also chat with other Red Cross Facebook fans about the program and your experiences.
Twitter. Watch the #holidaymailhashtag on Twitter, and use the hashtag when you talk about the program. Contact the Red Cross at @RedCross and Pitney Bowes at @Mail4Heroes with questions or comments. Information and news about the campaign will be posted via Twitter as well.
For your blog. If you have a blog or Web site and would like to support the Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign, you can put up a Web button or banner. To put these up get the code from the Red Cross Blog.
About Pitney Bowes:
Pitney Bowes is a $6.3 billion global technology leader whose products, services and solutions deliver value within the mailstream and beyond. Founded in 1920, our company’s 35,000 employees deliver technology, service and innovation to more than two million customers worldwide. For more information about Pitney Bowes, its products, services and solutions, visit www.pb.com.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.
