2016 Update: Thank you for your interest in our Holiday Mail for Heroes program. This year the program has transitioned to Holidays for Heroes, where local Red Cross offices can identify and engage local members of the military and veteran communities in a variety of activities to offer thanks and recognition. We would encourage you to contact your local Red Cross office for details. If they are not participating in Holidays for Heroes, please reach out to your local military and veterans organizations to inquire about their holiday activities.
Holiday Mail For Heroes is back for a fourth year! The American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes will collect holiday cards from regular citizens all across the country and distribute them to service members, veterans, and their families. Many active service members must spend the holidays apart from their family. Give back this holiday season by sending a card to thank those who have given a great deal to their country.
Send cards to the address below, and please read the guidelines carefully!
Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD
20791-5456
All cards must be postmarked no later than Friday, December 10th. Cards postmarked after this date will unfortunately be returned to the sender. This deadline ensures enough time to sort and distribute cards before the holidays.
After the mailbox closes, the cards we received will be screened for hazardous materials by Pitney Bowes and then reviewed by Red Cross volunteers working around the country.
Learn more about the screening process here .[VIDEO]
This year, we are thrilled to welcome back celebrity cabinet member Amy Grant. Amy will once again be joining us for our special kick-off and card signing event on November 11th, Veteran’s Day.
Amy Grant’s holiday card design
Amy and several other celebrity cabinet members also collaborated with us this year to create custom holiday cards that you can purchase (a $25 donation to our Service to the Armed Forces) and send to the Holiday Mail mailbox as well as to your friends and family. Check out designs from Dr. Phil, Miley Cyrus, and Jane Seymour!
You can also contribute more than just cards. Our holiday gift catalog lists several different contributions you can make to provide much-needed items for service members, such as phone cards and “comfort kits”.
If you are a blogger or website owner interested in showing your support for our charity, you can use the resources below. There is also a Holiday Mail for Heroes resource page that will contain the latest news and information.
Twitter
Watch the #holidaymail hashtag on Twitter, and use the hashtag when you talk about the program!
Contact us at @RedCross and Pitney Bowes at @Mail4Heroes with questions or comments! We will be posting information and news on Twitter.
Youtube
We will be updating our Youtube channel regularly. Check out our Holiday Mail for Heroes playlist.
Flickr
Our Holiday Mail 2010 set on Flickr will also be continuously updated as we gather more photos from our chapters and official events. Click here to see last year’s photos. All Flickr photos are available for you to use for personal (not commercial) purposes – just make sure to link back to our Flickr page!
Website Buttons
Here are some buttons and banners you can use on your own sites to support the program! Below each image is the code that will allow you to insert it into a website with a link back to the Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes resource page.
Copy this code to put it on your site:
<a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/holidaymail"><img src="https://redcrosschat.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/holiday-mail-for-her_38b4ba.jpg" height="120" width="120"></a>
Copy this code to put it on your site:
<a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/holidaymail"><img src="https://redcrosschat.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/holiday-mail-for-her_38b518.jpg" height="200" width="170"></a>
Click image to see full size
Copy this code to put it on your site:
<a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/holidaymail"><img src="https://redcrosschat.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/holidaymailforheroes.jpg" height="100" width="700"></a>