A Holiday for Our Heroes

Z's Mom, my most Socially Conscious Bloggy Friend, posted about a cool program the other day that will help you Thank Our Heroes this Holiday Season. Remember, Z's Mom is the one who turned us all on to Ratchet's Predicament and helped to facilitate his Happy Homecoming.

So, Here's the Deal: For the second year in a row, the Red Cross and Pitney Bowes are sponsoring the Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign. They're collecting holiday cards to distribute to American service members, veterans and their families in the United States and around the world. Pitney Bowes is generously donating technology, resources and postage to make this holiday card program possible.

The campaign's goal is to collect and distribute one million holiday cards to spread holiday cheer and facilitate thanks to these brave individuals and families.

You, too, can get involved by sending holiday cards to the following address:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD
20791-5456

Please pay attention to the following guidelines when mailing a card to ensure that your card will quickly reach service members, veterans and their families.

• Enclose no hazardous materials. Every card the group receives will first be screened by Pitney Bowes and then reviewed by Red Cross volunteers working in one of 16 sorting stations around the country.
• All cards must be postmarked no later than Wednesday, December 10, 2008. Cards sent after this date will be returned to sender.
• Participants are encouraged to limit the number of cards they submit to 25 from any one person or 50 from any one class or group. If you are mailing a larger quantity, please bundle the cards and place them in large mailing envelopes. Each card does not need its own envelope or postage.
• Please ensure that all cards are signed.
• Please use generic salutations such as “Dear Service Member.” Cards addressed to specific individuals can not be delivered through this program.
• Please send cards as opposed to long letters, which delay a quick review process.
• Please do not include e-mail or home addresses on the cards, as the program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships.
• Please do not include inserts of any kind, including photos, as these items will be removed during the reviewing process.
• All cards received may be used in program publicity efforts, including appearing in broadcast, print or online mediums.
• For more information you can click here: Holiday Mail for Heroes

Ratchet Lands Stateside

Ratchet, the 6-month-old Baghdad puppy who almost Met His Maker in Iraq because of Silly Army Rules, landed in DC, of all places, Monday afternoon.

As you may recall, Sgt. Gwen Beberg of Minneapolis adopted Ratchet while stationed in Iraq. She wanted to fly the pup home, but the Army, at first, said "No." Something about soldiers not being able to have "pets" while serving their country.

An organization called Operation Baghdad Pups marshalled the forces of animal-lovers worldwide, collecting more than 67,000 online signatures (including Yours Truly!) on an online petition, which caused the Army to change its bureaucratic mind. The puppy was on a flight to DC two days ago. From there he was headed to the Twin Cities, where Sgt. Beberg's Mom will take care of Ratchet until his own Mommy comes home. Thanks to Z's Mom for alerting us to this important issue, and keeping us posted on Ratchet's progress, and thanks to all our Bloggy Friends for getting involved.