Design Crafters

For several years now, there have been hundreds of thousands of Christmas cards sent overseas to United States military personnel serving tours of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other overseas military sites. What’s notable about these masses of cards being sent out is that, in many cases, the senders don’t necessarily know the soldiers who will be receiving the holiday greetings.

Mostly large groups of people, although sometimes individuals do this as well, take on the mission of ensuring that members of the U.S. military get special Christmas cards. Church groups, elementary school classes or grades, Girl or Boy Scout troops, book clubs, even the occasional bridge group at a retirement home – these groups and more work together on the Christmas card project. Some teachers say they lead their classes in such Christmas card projects because it not only is fun, but also gives the kids a sense of community pride. In many cases, the Christmas cards that are sent to soldiers are hand-made, making them all the more heartfelt.

Of course, many of these groups don’t limit their military-bound mail to just sending out Christmas cards to faraway soldiers. Letters, care packages, and other correspondence are sent year-round to thousands of military “pen pals.”

If you are interested in sending Christmas cards, other holiday greetings, or care packages to U.S. soldiers in Iraq, there are many organizations, both local and national, that could help get you started. You can find a list of such organizations at the following Department of Defense webpage: http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/AmericaSupportsYou/letters_messages.html