WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- America's wounded service members are always grateful for supportive cards, especially during the holiday season. Thousands of holiday cards have been pouring in to the American Red Cross for delivery to hospitalized service members nationwide and overseas. Country singer Randy Travis and his wife, Elizabeth, heard about the program and decided to send hundreds of personalized cards to recovering wounded service members at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC.
Advertisement
"Holiday cards and greetings are an ideal way to thank our brave service members and soldiers for all that they do for this country," said Randy Travis. "I encourage all Americans to take a few minutes to participate in this worthy program -- a little note can really go a long way and I know that our troops would appreciate the meaningful messages and well wishes."
Advertisement
This holiday season, communities across America are invited to mail cards along with personal messages of support to wounded service members who will be spending their holidays at military hospitals. Red Cross volunteers are gearing up to sort and hand-deliver tens of thousands of cards to military hospitals across the country this holiday season. In addition, cards will be sent to five Red Cross offices in the combat zones including Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait and to the regional medical center in Landstuhl, Germany.
To bring a bit of cheer to recovering service members, the Red Cross has teamed up with the U.S. Department of Defense, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and Pitney Bowes Inc., for this first-time program. Pitney Bowes will bundle and ship the cards to these Red Cross locations.
The public has widely embraced the program sending messages of caring, gratitude and encouragement. The Red Cross has already heard from schools, scout troops, other groups and corporations that are actively participating in this program and sending bundles of cards for delivery to the troops.
Please send cards to:
We Support You During Your Recovery!
c/o American Red Cross
P.O. Box 419
Savage, MD 20763-0419
Be sure to affix adequate postage. Cards must be postmarked by December 24, 2007. Cards received after December 27, will be returned to the sender. Multiple cards without envelopes may be placed in one mailing envelope or a box that includes a return address. Again, senders are reminded that "care packages" are not part of the program -- send only cards and notes. Also, please refrain from using glitter or any other inserts that would not be appropriate in a hospital environment.
About the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.
About Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI) is a mailstream technology company that helps organizations manage the flow of information, mail, documents and packages. Our 35,000 employees deliver technology, service and innovation to more than two million customers worldwide. The company was fou
