Veteran's Day was Wednesday, but we saved the blog hop for this weekend! And the "hop starts here"! http://www.owhhomefrontblog.org/ <--- please click on that to start hopping if you came here from a reader or email subscription.
I first got involved with Operation Write Home (OWH) a few years ago, when they were known as "cards for hereos" and I think they're a wonderful organization! Their purpose is two-fold:
- Homemade cards for troops deployed overseas for their uses - they can use birthday, all occasion, Christmas, Hanukah, Valentine's, etc.
- Any Hero cards - cards of thanks and encouragement to our troops - these can be as short as "thank you for your service" to a longer letter that shares your thanks, cute stories from home or even your kids colored!
There is pretty much only one rule which is "no glitter" as glitter can make our troops "reflective" especially at night, further endangering their lives. Anything handmade is fine, you can even cut up cards you've received - just please no "store bought" cards. They accept cards year round, although there are specific deadlines for holidays. For example, the deadline for Christmas cards for the troops to use to send back home to their families has passed - however, you can work on Valentine's day card OR you can still send Christmas type cards with a handwritten message of thanks for use in the Any Hero program. All these details, and many quick tips can be found at Operation Write Home.
I have some "quick" cards for the "Any Hero" program . And I'm giving away BLOG CANDY! Please leave your comment in the comments section and I will use a random generator to draw for a winner.
Your next stop on the list is Teresa: Tilting at Windmills<--- click to go visit! If she doesn't have her post ready when you stop in, please check with her later!
For both cards I went with "clean and simple" and hand wrote my sentiment. I decorated the back with the OWH stamp and a flamingo with "Greetings from FLORIDA" - I thought that was a fun way for to add some cheer.
I also wanted to share with you some pictures of my cousin Alan's recent retirement from a very full career in the Navy! He served as Commander on a carrier battlegroup following September 11th (among other assignments) and I'm just very, very proud of him! My cousin is the tall guy on the right.
