The group I'm profiling today is one of the largest and most widely known charitable organizations among card makers. Perhaps you've heard of it. Operation Write Home supports U.S. armed forces by sending blank, homemade greeting cards to write home on, as well as sending them cards of gratitude.
About Operation Write Home
Cardmakers from the United States– and
citizens of other nations too – who care about our military, and want
to support them through creativity and encouragement participate in Operation Write Home since 2007.
Care packages filled with hundreds of handmade cards are sent to our contacts, restocking every 6-8 weeks, and are sent in time for the long journey back home to loved ones. Each box is packed with great care, alternating styles, colors, and cardmakers from all over the United States creating “eye candy” for heroes who see only khaki around them. In addition to blank cards for soldiers, a plastic bag filled with 20-30 letters from adults and children across the country, are handed out especially to those in need of a positive word from the homefront.
Boxes are shipped every week of the year. Operation Write Home recently sent out its 2.5 millionth card! There is the solder with the 2.5 millionth card in the photo below!
Recipients
U.S. soldiers from every branch of service - deployed all over the world - receive cards from Operation Write Home. Cards are distributed through chapels, MWRs, USOs, battlefields and living quarters at deployed duty station around the globe.
Want to see some of those recipients? Click here to see a slide show of soldiers with their cards. Grab a tissue. You may choke up a little.
How to Get Involved
Operation Write Home has some unique guidelines, which you can find here. One of the most important rules is absolutely NO GLITTER. What? No glitter? That's right. Glitter makes soldiers visible to someone with night vision goggles and puts them at risk as an easy target.
Another guideline to note is that they accept A2 cards (4.25x5.5") only. Because Operation Write Home processes thousands and thousands of cards a year, they need to be as efficient as possible. The more cards they can process, the more opportunities for soldiers to send something special to their families.
You can get all the guidelines from their web site, which is chock full of really good information.
It's also important to note their deadlines. While you and I are thinking about Valentine's Day cards, Operation Write Home is already working on Easter and Mother's Day themes. Many of their cards go to remote locations, so they need to work 6-8 weeks ahead of time. Click here for a calendar.
Now, what soldier wouldn't love to give this silly card to his or her child! It's an A2 card with no glitter. If you lift the flaps, you can read some of the silly sounds in the song. My daughter loves that song. Apparently, her kindergarten class dances to it sometimes during brain breaks!
Have a great weekend and please consider sharing your talent by donating a card (or two, or three or four) to Operation Write Home or any of the organizations I've profiled.
Annette Pin It
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