From Our Hearts

Cards Arrive from Snowy NY

And this isn't the first time for From Our Hearts to receive a box from this devoted stamper, only this time she had a little help from some friends.  Arlene D. from Rome, NY strikes again . . . and HEARTS adorn her box.  We get a kick out of the decorated boxes that arrive that show the patriotism of our card makers and the spirit of our mission - it comes from their hearts!

And inside the box, too - as her notes to us are on heart shaped sticky notes . . .

Enclosed we found 153 valentines, 12 anniversary, 5 wedding and 1 St. Pats cards - over 1/2 a box for our servicemen and women serving our country!  The valentines are boxed up and ready to ship.  She enclosed the "left over" stamped images for our future use, too.

Renee K of Hartford, NY and Sandee R of Ava, NY (recognize this name?  She is Martie's daughter) helped to make these beautiful valentines.  Thank you to both of you for helping Arlene.

Arlene also takes the time to turn her own swap card fronts into cards before sending them on to us.  This is a tremendous help to us, both in time and cardstock.

 

Arlene, your continued support of our troops and of our effort is very much appreciated and we look forward to receiving your next box!

The Patriot Way Stampers Have Fun and Find Time to Stamp, Too

Introducing the one and only Patriot Way Stampers . . . 1421 miles from our home office in Jefferson City, these ladies hail from the fine town of Buxton, Maine.

 

This fine group of women do everything together, including finding time from their busy days to stamp!

And take a good look at their box of cards - lots and lots of valentines!  They were ready for the boxes, and they even added their contact information to the back of our slip, each one inserted in the back of each card.  300 cards in total.

300 cards?  Come to think of it, Patriot Stampers, you have filled one entire box to send over to our chaplains!  Our heartfelt thanks to all of you for your time and talent . . . and our troops are going to love these cards (and so will their loved ones back here in the states!)

Norman, OK Angel Artist is at it again!

From Our Hearts knows one very special lady in Norman, OK.  You have seen her boxes and cards posted on our blog before - the boxes with "angel mail cards for the troops" on the front.  Her name is Ruth AKA Angel Artist.

This month, Ruth sent us two big boxes of cards - 482 cards in total!  How does she do it?

Ruth holds card making events for From Our Hearts on a regular basis.  And when her "regulars" can't make it, she gives them packets to stamp at home and return to her.

These are just a few samples of the types of cards she ships to From Our Hearts.  She put her own customized slip in the back of each card - our servicemen and women now know these cards are from Oklahoma!

And why is this such a big deal?  Ruth had e-mailed From Our Hearts after her last shipment the end of November saying was taking a break for the holidays and wouldn't be sending any cards for a while.

A while?  She took us by surprise with this shipment of 2 boxes of nearly 500 cards!

Ruth, you ARE an angel!

Triple the Boxes!

That is right!  3 times we opened the door and Stephen presented us with boxes from Allen Park, MI.  Any guesses who sent them?

Here is a hint:

If you recall, this may look familiar - a spreadsheet listing all the cards by type, if they have envelopes, clear envelopes and with a total at the bottom . . . yes, it is Sharon C, again!

 

And inside, packaged by type and this makes it so very easy for us at the home front to know just what boxes they go into. . .

 

And yes, 3 boxes arrived this month alone from Sharon - almost 400 cards!

Sharon's cards will impact not just 400 lives, but 800 lives - those that will send the card and those on the receiving end.

We are making a difference, and in Sharon's case, 400 cards at a time!  

SD Cards Arrive, Despite the Blizzard!

This package arrived just in time for our Valentine shipment, all the way from Sioux Falls, South Dakota and came in the spirit of From Our Hearts - check out the hearts on the package -

They are from JJ R. - a first time contributor to our effort.

Not only did JJ include 48 cards (including Valentines), but tiny colored pencils that we will ship with the boxes.  What a clever idea.  JJ, our many thanks for supporting our troops and donating your time, talent and most of all, your effort!

Shortly after the package arrived, we received an e-mail from JJ saying that she is working on another box of cards to send.  JJ, thank you!

Our list of contacts is growing - we now have 14 contacts requesting cards.

That is ALOT of cards to ship every month - multiply 14 x a minimum of 250 cards per box - and you get the picture.  The need is there . . . each chaplain contact supports 600 troops.  We try to send more than one box to each if there are enough donations on hand.

Monday and Tuesday of this week From Our Hearts will be hosting a BOXING PARTY to ready all the Valentines to ship out by Dec 31 and all of the other donated cards to ship out before the postage rates increase on January 4.  Yes, good 'ole Uncle Sam has not spared us this time.  The postage rate will increase from $11.95 to $12.50 per box.

The home office at From Our Hearts continues to say "thank you, thank you, thank you" from our hearts - to those of you who support our effort in every way.  Those of you, like JJ, who send us cards and who are continuing to keep our servicemen and women in mind while creating your masterpieces; if it were not for your cards, there would not be boxes to ship.  Thank you!!!!

The cards and e-mails of thanks from Iraq and Afghanistan say it better than we ever can -

10 More Valentines and They do ADD UP!

From Our Hearts received this small package from Susan H - all the way from Sackets Harbor, NY:

 

Inside, a note and 10 more Valentines for our boxes that will be shipped this coming week.

Susan has donated a large box to From Our Hearts just recently and made a few more cards to add to our boxes.  10 cards - that equates to one in each to go to the boxes to our chaplains.  Big deal?  Yes!  Each card donation, when added to all the others, fills up the many, many boxes that From Our Hearts ships out each month.  Susan's extra effort means that 10 more servicemen and women will be able to send a card for Valentine's Day.  It is a small effort on her part that goes a long way. 

A Heartfelt THANK YOU

And this one goes to Dan Y from Taos, MO -

No, not a box of cards, but his time - and many hours of his precious time right before Christmas, away from his family.

Dan helped From Our Hearts just recently to prevent our computer from crashing - and it was very, very close to doing so!  One more day and we would have lost everything.

This is why no pictures on the blog these past 10 days or so - as we were unable to even resize one and save it.

A desperate SOS call to Dan was made and he spent countless hours helping to resolve the issue.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to Dan for spending a long, long evening with us and to his wife, Karen, for sharing him with us and her understanding!

We are now up and running again and soon we will have the countless pictures and stories that need to be told on our blog.

A Tribute to Our Troops - You are Not Forgotten

As we gather around the Christmas tree this evening, warm in our homes with our family and friends, let us not forget those that cannot.

It's been a few days...

We are not lost, just very busy as we have received many, many boxes of cards this past week and are trying to catch our breath - and keep up!

Thank you to all who are sending valentines and the many other variety of cards.  We are going to have a "boxing" party here in Jefferson City next week to get the thousands of cards ready to ship.  These past few days we have been photographing, recording, counting, separating, sorting and placing the cards we have received in their appropriate boxes - mainly to locate the many valentine cards so we don't miss them!

Photos of those who have donated will be posted very soon - the "home" computer is having some issues with memory so cross your fingers that these pictures will indeed make it to the blog!

We are still waiting on some boxes to arrive as many have contacted us to let us know that boxes are on their way.  Every day at least 2 or 3 arrive on our doorstep.

And, it is a blessing that a majority of them arrive already in the clear envelopes and with customized slips inserted!  Thank you!  This makes our work so much faster and easier.  Much heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all of you!!!

From Our Hearts Receives Another Letter of Thanks Today

We are honored and touched when we receive the many, many letters, cards and postcards from our servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan because they take the time from their long days and duties in the war zone to write to From Our Hearts to express their gratitude and thanks.

This is one such card, received today.  It comes from Bruce M and as it only has an APO address, his location is unknown.  It matters not.  The important thing is that we are impacting lives in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  He writes:

Thank you so much for the fantastic cards that you provide to those of us stationed overseas.  It is a wonderful way for us to stay connected to our loved ones.

-signed-

Short and sweet, we know that it is from his heart that this letter is written.

From Our Hearts supports our troops by providing this free service to those so far from home.  From the brief note that Bruce has written and put in the mail to us, we know we are succeeding in our mission.

Our service is one that costs them nothing - and allows them an opportunity to "stay connected" with their loved ones back home.

It is with the help of hundreds of individuals from across the country and even across our borders that this is made possible.

This thank you letter is for all of you who have donated your time, talent, cards and monetary donations.  This letter and the many others we receive would not have arrived if not for your support.

You make this happen.  And we thank you, too.