Send a Greeting to a Hero this Holiday Season

There may be someone you hadn’t thought of on your holiday greeting card mailing list.

The American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes program is collecting and distributing holiday cards to “send a touch of home” to American service members, veterans and their families in the United States and around the world.

The program, in its fifth year, makes it simple to share a greeting with a service member.

Simply address it with a generic salutation such as “Dear Service Member,” sign your name, and mail it to:

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

Participants are encouraged to mail as many cards as they are comfortable sending, according to the Red Cross website. For large quantities, they are asking that you bundle the cards and place them in large mailing envelopes or use a flat rate box from the post office.

Pitney Bowes, a mail stream technology company, will screen the cards for hazardous materials, then forward them to Red Cross for review by volunteers.

Each card does not need its own envelope, because they will be removed from all envelopes before distribution, the website says.

Cards must be postmarked no later than Friday, Dec. 9.

If you would like to send other items to America's troops overseas, could use your help. Treats for Troops is always looking for donations and cash contributions to pay for shipping.