Cards Reminder!

Chaplain Banks is leaving for 2nd tour in Iraq this coming Saturday, March 8th. Let's all keep him in our thoughts to get to his destination safely and return home again quickly! I am hoping as soon as I get a contact addy from him to send a big bunch of cards off right away so I hope everyone is busy making some cards! Remember this will be the first shipment so in addition to what is on the schedule for April 10th we also need generic cards such as Birthday, Get Well, Thank you, and even just general "Hello" cards.

Thank you all again for everything you do to make our Cards for Soldiers program such a huge success!

We have envies!!!

UPS just arrived with a very big box! 5000 envelopes from Best Selling Author JoAnn Ross! Thank you JoAnn and JAM Paper for sending them so quickly! JoAnn has been a long standing contributor of cards and when she found out we were in an envelope bind she came to our rescue! This is a huge help to our project because we were having a very hard time getting them donated. I understand the economy is in a crunch and all but these soldiers are fighting for our freedom! But if they give to our program they have to give to someone else, and it's a vicious cirle. I get it so I just wanted to shout out to JoAnn, her supplier, and of course her wonderful 'sweetie' as she calls him for all their help in our project! Without people like you all this project wouldn't be!

2008 Mailing Schedule and New Mailing Address!!!

Thank you to everyone who has participated in our Cards for Soldiers program, and all who are interested in participating and showing support to our troops overseas! Currently the platoon we have been sending cards to is coming home! YAY!!! But at the same time Chaplain Banks (who we started the program for) is on his way back over for his second round of duty in March. So we will be starting shipments to him in April.

All cards should be A2 size (one half of an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet, folded in half), as we have envelopes donated for our Program. If you make a larger card please be sure to clip an envelope that fits with it. Please remember to leave the cards blank on the inside, with a self-stick note from you (or your child) to the soldier if desired.

General Occasion cards are ALWAYS welcome with any of the rounds below, including Birthday, Miss You, Thank You, etc. Seasonal themed cards are also always welcome (Summer, etc.)

The address is:

Cards for Soldiers
5 Spicebush Circle
Litchfield, NH 03052

The schedule for our Cards for Soldiers program for 2008 is:

ROUND 1: Cards should be received by April 10, 2008
Mother's Day
Armed Forces Day

ROUND 2: Cards should be received by May 9, 2008
Father's Day
4th of July/Indpendence Day

ROUND 3: Cards should be received by June 13, 2008
General occasion cards
Friendship Day (August 3)

ROUND 4: Cards should be received by July 25, 2008
Patriot Day
Grandparent's Day
Rosh Hashanah

ROUND 5: Cards should be received by September 5, 2008
Halloween
Thanksgiving
Yom Kippur

ROUND 6: Cards should be received by October 10, 2008
Veteran's Day (please write a note to a soldier in each card)

ROUND 7: Cards should be received by November 7, 2009 (NOTE: due to the timing of holidays, this deadline comes up fairly soon after the previous deadline, so just be aware it might sneak up on you!)
Christmas
Hanukkah
Kwanzaa
New Years

Lets get working on some cards so we can have a great year for Chaplain Banks and his platoon!

Card Count Update

Again, a HUGE thank you to everyone who has sent in cards for the troops! I'm realizing I haven't posted the numbers for a couple of rounds, so here is an update.

In May we sent 815 cards, and in June we sent 1300. These numbers are down a bit from before, but the trend seems to be on the upswing again.

Thanks again to everyone who has participated. The troops currently in Iraq are facing a long deployment: when they went over, they were looking at 12 months, but in the meantime have been extended to 15 months. All Army troops headed over in the forseeable future have been told to expect at least a 15 month deployment. These men and women can use all the encouragement possible, so please keep the cards coming.

Please remember it makes our lives easier if you group cards according to theme, and label with the type of card and number of cards in each grouping. Thanks!

WOW, Another Great Round!!

We have had lots of cards pour in for this round, and I'm busy counting and packaging to send them on their way to the "big sand box". A huge thank you to everyone who has sent in cards. There are lots of Anniversary, Birthday, Thinking of You and many other occasions that will be extremely welcome by our troops!

A big thank you to those of you who are grouping your cards. It is a tremendous help to us when you group similar cards together (for example, all "thank you" cards, etc) and put a rubber band around them, with a note or sticky tab labeling them and telling how many there are. Even better is grouping them into zip lock bags, as many of you are doing. Thanks for making our job easier!

It's time to start thinking of the next round, as well. We're looking ahead to Rosh Hashanah and Grandparent's Day. In addition, for many of the troops currently serving, 9/11 was one of the big factors that prompted them to join the military. I know it was a huge factor for my husband. As Patriot Day approaches, let's inundate the troops with patriotic cards. "We Will Not Forget" is a good theme for these. Or how about "Thanks For Standing By Me" for a soldier to send to his or her sweetheart?

Thanks again for supporting our troops and their families! I know these cards provide a boost to morale and a great way for them to keep in touch with their loved ones back home.

2007 Cards for Soldiers Schedule

Welcome to the new C4S blog! We hope this will be a way for you to keep track of the activities of the Cards for Soldiers program, as well as a great way to tell your friends! Please link to us and spread the word!

Cards for Soldiers started with the Faculty and members of 123-Scrap. Come hang out with us, participate in a challenge or two, and gain boatloads of inspiration.

A great big thank you to everyone who has participated in sending handmade cards to the troops, and all who are interested in participating and showing support to our troops overseas. It truly does mean a lot to them to receive our handmade cards, and it means the world to their family to receive these cards from their soldier.

All cards should be A2 size (one half of an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet, folded in half), as we have envelopes donated for our program. Please remember to leave the cards blank on the inside, with a self-stick note from you (or your child) to the soldier if desired. (NOTE: If you are interested in donating envelopes, please e-mail cardsforsoldiers@gmail.com and let us know.)

General Occasion cards are ALWAYS welcome, including Birthday, Miss You, Thank You, etc. Seasonal themed cards are also always welcome (Summer, etc.)

The address is:
Cards for Soldiers
PO Box 802
Killeen, Texas 76540-0802

The schedule for our Cards for Soldiers program for the remainder of 2007 is:

ROUND 3: Cards should be received by April 15, 2007 (note: this deadline has been extended from the original date)
Mother's Day
Armed Forces Day

ROUND 4: Cards should be received by May 6, 2007
Father's Day
4th of July/Indpendence Day

ROUND 5: Cards should be received by June 15, 2007
General occasion cards

ROUND 6: Cards should be received by July 31, 2007
Patriot Day
Grandparent's Day
Rosh Hashanah

ROUND 7: Cards should be received by September 19, 2007
Halloween
Thanksgiving

ROUND 8: Cards should be received by October 14, 2007
Veteran's Day (please write a note to a soldier in each card)

ROUND 9: Cards should be received by November 6, 2007 (NOTE: due to the timing of holidays, this deadline comes up fairly soon after the previous deadline, so just be aware it might sneak up on you!)
Christmas
Hanukkah
Kwanzaa
New Years