Send Service Members Some Holiday Cheer

If you would like to send a message of holiday cheer to U.S. service men and women around the world, you might like to participate in a project called "Holiday Mail for Heroes," sponsored by the American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes Inc.

From now to Dec. 10, the public is invited to send holiday cards with messages of thanks and cheer to Holiday Mail for Heroes, P.O. Box 5456, Capitol Heights, Md., 20791-5456. The cards will be screened, sorted and delivered to military bases and hospitals, veterans' hospitals and other locations during the holiday season.

The project, announced yesterday in the District by officials of the Red Cross, Pitney Bowes, the Marine Corps and Walter Reed Army Medical Center, grew out of a smaller program last year when Walter Reed and the Red Cross collaborated to distribute thousands of cards to wounded troops. With help from Pitney Bowes, the mailing was expanded, and more than 600,000 cards were sent to service personnel at other facilities.

This year, the organizations are planning a more ambitious mailing to a variety of bases and other facilities.

Red Cross officials said the cards must have regular first-class postage when sent to the Maryland post office box. They must be received by Dec. 10. They should not contain gifts, food, money or other inserts, and they should not be decorated with glitter. They should not be addressed to individuals. More details are available at http://www.redcross.org/holidaymail.