Holiday Mail for Heroes

We had a blast working with American Red Cross and Red Bank Elementary! Hope you enjoy!

-Denea Duran

Holiday Mail for Heroes

We are so glad to apart of Holiday Mail for Heroes. The people in our office not only signed cards to soldiers but we also visited an elementary school and the second grade class helped us out with some cards. 

Here is how you can be apart of this great program! 

Each year the American Red Cross provides assistance to more than 2 million service members and many of our nation’s 24 million veterans. We support military families, military and veterans hospitals and provide emergency communications across the globe. And once a year, we get the joy of delivering holiday cards to veterans, military families and active-duty service members at hospitals and installations around the world.

The cards and personal messages, sent by tens of thousands of Americans, provide a welcome “touch of home” for our troops during the holiday season.

Card Guidelines 

Every card received will be screened for hazardous materials by Pitney Bowes and then reviewed by Red Cross volunteers working around the country.

Please observe the following guidelines to ensure a quick reviewing process:

• Ensure that all cards are signed.
• Use generic salutations such as “Dear Service Member.” Cards addressed to specific individuals can not be delivered through this program.
• Only cards are being accepted. Do not send or include letters.
• Do not include email or home addresses on the cards: the program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships.
• Do not include inserts of any kind, including photos: these items will be removed during the reviewing process.
• Please refrain from choosing cards with glitter or using loose glitter as it can aggravate health issues of ill and injured warriors.
• If you are mailing a large quantity of cards, please bundle them and place them in large mailing envelopes or flat rate postal shipping boxes. Each card does not need its own envelope, as envelopes will be removed from all cards before distribution.

All holiday greetings should be addressed and sent to:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

The deadline for having cards to the P.O. Box is Friday, December 7th.
Holiday cards received after this date cannot be guaranteed delivery.

-Denea Duran

Content Credit: http://www.redcross.org/support/get-involved/holiday-mail-for-heroes

Marvelous Monday!

My deepest apologies for postponing Fun Friday (or "Marvelous Monday"). We will resume our regular schedule this Friday, which means that this week you get TWO extra special posts! Since the holidays are coming up (ready or not), it's about that time that a lot of you are taking your family photos for a holiday card. Tired of doing the same old thing? Check out these shots to get some unique ideas!

For the offbeat family, take it Jackson Pollock style and get a little dirty like this family did on their paint shoot.

There must be something in the water.

It's all about the angles. Or the diamonds in this case.

Try a different perspective!

Be sure to capture your good side.

Or try your hand at photoshop to let your personalities shine.

Aerial shots are a playful way to send holiday greetings!

Say it with chalk!

Or a sign.

A picture's worth a thousand words.

How about an action shot?

Go clean with all white (or neutrals).

Try a progression.

Jump around!

And remember, you can't have too much of a good thing.

Sandy Hayden

Photo Credit: Covered in Paint, Family in the Water, Diamonds, Boy Up Front, Silhouettes, The Lowe Family News, Family on the Ground, Chalk Tree, Balloons, Chalk Snow, Happily Ever After, A Family of Feet, Hanging Upside Down, Laying, Kissing with Babies, Clean Shot, Family Couch, Jump Around, Joy Series.