Letting them know we care

Jeff Walker
Published: December 3, 2008

They are miles away from home, unable to travel due to injuries. Many won’t see their families for a long time. They need some holiday cheer.

The wounded servicemen and women who are still under medical care right here in the states — and those who are still serving abroad — probably need even more seasonal sentiment.

There are some recommended ways to send greetings to the men and women of our armed forces. There are also some legitimate and easy ways we can help them contact their loved ones back home.

The Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign is in its second year and is sponsored by the American Red Cross. The program is designed to receive and distribute holiday cards to service members and veterans both in the U.S. and abroad. The goal this season is to pass along one million pieces of holiday mail.

Time is of the essence for this campaign: The deadline is Dec. 10. Following the outlined guidelines, cards should be addressed to:
Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, Md. 20791-5456

The Red Cross gives the following guidelines for sending holiday cards: All cards should be signed, but without personal information such as e-mail or home addresses. A generic salutation, “Dear service member,” should be used.

If sending more than one card, please mail all cards together in one large shipping envelope. Cards sent in this manner do not need individual envelopes or postage.

There are some big don’ts for sending holiday mail through this program: Please do not send letters or any kind of inserts. Any items inserted into cards will be removed during the reviewing process.

And do not send cards addressed to “A wounded service member” directly to places like Walter Reed Army Medical Center. These will not be accepted.

The Web address for more detailed information for Holiday Mail for Heroes is http://www.redcross.org/email/saf/.
Whether or not you know a servicemember who is still stationed overseas, imagine what it must be like for them and their families during the holidays to not be able to hear each other’s voices.

There is a way we can help our troops call home for the holidays.

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) has been authorized by the Department of Defense to offer very special deals on pre-paid calling cards. Individuals or groups may purchase cards for specific servicemembers or they may be donated and distributed by the Red Cross.

Normally regular civilians are not eligible to use the military exchange services but the Military Exchange Global Prepaid Calling Cards are being offered for sale to customers not otherwise authorized to make purchases through the Exchange Online Store.

The program offers military exchange prepaid 550 minute phone cards for $27.50 per card (plus a small shipping fee). There are also prepaid cards for ship to shore calls offered at $20 per card.

The rates offered by these special military exchange prepaid cards are not only a good value, they are also designed to be used by the service men and women abroad. These cards do not carry any hidden charges, connection fees and the minutes do not expire.

For more information or to order the special prepaid phone cards go to http://www.aafes.com/

If you as an individual or your church or school group wants to support our troops — during the holidays and beyond — there are many ways to go about it. In my own search for information I came across some additional Web sites that offer helpful information to the general public.

The “Support Our Troops” section of military.com outlines detailed information about sending care packages and donating goods and services directly to the servicemembers.

Visit http://www.military.com/benefits/resources/support-our-troops

“How to Support Our Troops” at ehow.com offers brief suggestions and where to go for more information. http://www.ehow.com/how_2144643_support-troops-this-holiday.html

Jeff Walker is a community columnist who lives in Culpeper. He is the drama teacher at Eastern View High School. He appears Wednesdays in the Star-Exponent. E-mail