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.
Welcome to the fifth year of our Holiday Mail For Heroes program! As in previous years, we will partner with Pitney Bowes to collect holiday cards from regular citizens all across the country and distribute them to service members, veterans, and their families. If you’re looking for a fun way to give back a little bit this holiday season, this is a great option. Check out our slideshow of cards from previous years for some inspiration.
Send cards to the address below:
Holiday Mail For Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456
All cards must be postmarked no later than Friday, December 9th. 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]
Online Cards
This year, we have a new option to create cards online – just select one out of four great designs and type in your personal message, and we will print the card out for you and deliver it with all of the other cards we receive. The best part is that each card only costs $1.
To send cards online, go to mailforheroes.com.
Card Guidelines
- All cards being sent in for 2011 Holiday Mail For Heroes program should be postmarked no later than Friday, December 9, 2011.
- 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 letters.
- Do not include email or home addresses on the cards, as the program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships.
- Do not include inserts of any kind, including photos, as these items will be removed during the reviewing process.
- Please refrain from sending holiday cards with glitter. Many of these cards will be delivered to military and veterans medical facilities and the glitter could interfere with a patient’s recovery.
- We encourage participants to mail as many cards as they are comfortable sending. If you are mailing a large quantity, please bundle the cards and place them in large mailing envelopes or use a flat rate box from the post office. Each card does not need its own envelope, as cards will be removed from all envelopes before distribution.
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, 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 2011 set on Flickr will also be continuously updated as we gather more photos. 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/2011/11/120x120-HMFH-Blog-Badge.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/2011/11/170x200-HMFH-Blog-Badge.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/2011/11/700x100-HMFH-Blog-Badge.jpg" height="100" width="700"></a>