Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) is reminding folks in southwest Michigan to keep our troops and veterans foremost in their thoughts by participating in the Holiday Mail for Heroes program.  For the fourth year, the American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes Inc. have joined forces for the Holiday Mail for Heroes program to provide Americans with the opportunity to extend holiday greetings and thanks to service members and veterans. 

“A holiday greeting can make quite a difference in the life of one of our troops currently in service or one of our heroic veterans – providing a simple, yet powerful reminder that the American public is grateful for their service,” said Upton.  “What better way to personally thank our troops and veterans this holiday season than with a card.  I hope everyone will take a moment to remember our troops and veterans and thank them in their own words.  The gesture of a card will mean so much to those brave men and women who have made tremendous sacrifices for our nation.”

Each year the American Red Cross provides assistance to over 2 million service members and many of our nation’s 24 million veterans. The holiday season is the perfect time to extend a warm greeting and word of gratitude to those who have served and continue to do so.

The Red Cross has requested that folks keep in mind a few guidelines:

Do...
• Include your heartfelt sentiments and sign all cards
• Entitle cards with generic terms such as “Dear Service Member, Family or Veteran”
• Limit cards to 15 per person or 50 per school class or business group
• Bundle groups of cards in single, large envelopes

Don’t...
• Send letters, care packages or monetary gifts
• Include personal information such as home or email addresses
• Use glitter – excessive amounts can aggravate health issues of wounded recipients
• Include inserts of any kind as they must be removed in the screening process

Cards must be received by Holiday Mail for Heroes no later than December 10th.  Cards received after this date will be returned to senders. 

Holiday cards should be addressed and sent to:

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

Upton is also collecting cards at both of his district offices in St. Joseph and Kalamazoo – Upton will forward cards to Holiday Mail for Heroes that are received in either office by December 8th.  Those interested may send cards to either office or drop them off in person. 

St. Joseph/Benton Harbor District Office
800 Centre
800 Ship Street
St. Joseph, MI
269-982-1986

Kalamazoo District Office
157 South Kalamazoo Mall
Suite 180
Kalamazoo, MI
269-385-0039

Every card received will be screened for hazardous materials by Pitney Bowes and distributed to participating Red Cross chapters nationwide. Once the cards arrive at the Red Cross chapters, they are sorted and reviewed by volunteers who then distribute them to service members, their families and veterans in communities across the country.

For additional information and card requirements, please visit with www.redcross.org/holidaymail.