From Our Hearts

A few days behind . . .

Due to unforeseen medical emergencies on the From Our Hearts home front, we are a bit behind in acknowledging all of the boxes that are arriving daily and of course, posting those that are received.  Our apologies to all; we will be up and in full force in the next few days when we are able to get all in order.  Rest assured, all is well, we are trying our best to ensure that business continues as normal -

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we take a big deep sigh of relief that all is well - and work furiously to get caught up!

From Our Hearts is on AmericanTown

In the very near future, a link to the AmericaTown's Jefferson City Events Calendar will appear on our side bar - this is where local stamping events, held by From Our Hearts in the Jefferson City area will be posted.  You may view it here.   The February 21 card making event at the Missouri River Regional Library is on the calendar!  And be sure to click on site!

Please Be Patient!

Our big Mother's Day card making event is tomorrow!  From Our Hearts has been VERY busy with the planning, coordinating and cutting cardstock for the public to stamp and assemble 1,200 cards.

7 boxes of cards have arrived these past 3 days.  We've opened them; over 1,500 cards have arrived, many without envelopes.  Acknowledgments will be sent very soon and of course, on our blog they will go.

Thank you to all of you who are using our paypal and credit card link on our blog to donate to help out with much needed funds to help send all these cards over to Iraq and Afghanistan.  We get cards in and From Our Hearts must purchase the envelopes clear envelopes and of course postage to ship them over.  Since the first of the year, our postage alone is half of what From Our Hearts spent in 2009 as the cards keep coming in.

Our many, many thanks to all of our card makers and contributors!  Keep those cards coming in - supporting all of our chaplains requires thousands of cards every month.

All contributions are tax deductible as From Our Hearts is a not for profit organization.

We say thank you so often and continue to do so - it comes From Our Hearts - and we receive thanks from so many servicemen and women who write to tell us how much of an impact one single card makes on their day.  These letters of thanks are to all of you who contribute to our cause.

Mother's Day Cardmaking Event February 6

Come join us in making Mother's Day cards to send to our servicemen and women serving our country in Iraq and Afghanistan -

These are cards that will be sent for them to write home to their loved ones.

Mother's Day is the second largest card-mailing day, next to holiday cards.  We'll need many as we currently are sending boxes of cards to twenty different contacts.  Each box we send holds about 300 cards and that is ALOT of cards!

We are planning to make over 1,200 cards and need your help!

No experience is required.  There will be help on hand to show you how to stamp and assemble the cards.

Where:  Marine Corps League Central MO Detachment, 4925 W Business 50 (Apache Flats)

Time:  Noon to 4 p.m.

Cost:  Free!

Donations to From Our Hearts is appreciated to help with the cost of supplies.  A silent auction will be held to help raise much needed funds to help sustain our operations throughout the year.  The cost of mailing the boxes overseas has increased effective January 4 to $12.50 a box.

Not able to make it?  We accept paypal and credit card donations.  Simply click on the secured paypal or credit card link on our sidebar.

We hope to see you on the 6th!

The Results of Your Efforts

It amazes us when we look at the figures, the tallies, all of what we have done this past year. 

Considering where From Our Hearts really began . . . 12 cards nearly 2 years ago . . . sent at the request of one soldier far away from his family and wanting to send "quality cards" back home to his wife and to his children . . .

Fast forward to December 31, 2009.

28,479 cards sent (and many more shipped since then)

78 boxes in 2009

16 different locations in Iraq and Afghanistan are receiving boxes

value of cards shipped in 2009:  $32,301.99

cost of postage in 2009:  $928.90

And this is all possible because of YOU!

From Our Hearts is supported solely by the generous donations of individuals who support our troops and believe that every military man and woman serving our country in Iraq and Afghanistan deserve to send a QUALITY handcrafted card to their loved ones back home.

We are entirely a volunteer (unpaid) organization and appreciate all the support we receive.  Just today a check for $12.50 arrived in the mail.  Big deal?  Yes!  To us, it means we can send one more box - and we can make 300 of our military men and women happy with 300 cards.  And it goes further . . . 300 will receive those cards!

Thank you, to our most recent contributor of $12.50.  Postage has increased and it has impacted our operations.  Your $12.50 is very much needed.

Boxes of cards keep coming in and this is our life-blood - without cards, we would have no boxes to send.  We thank every one of our contributors for your time and effort, your creativity, your cardstock and ribbon, postage to mail them to us, the envelopes, the cash and checks you enclose, . . . our thanks to you comes from our hearts.

An update of the Valentine's Day card shipment will be forthcoming.  Additional contributors have not yet been posted on our blog and will be very soon . . . rest assured . . . and the Valentine cards are "in the mail" and headed to Iraq and Afghanistan.  So stay tuned.  The two day, "boxing party" of the valentines will be posted soon.

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!!!

Happy Thanksgiving from From Our Hearts

On this day of thanks, From Our Hearts wishes to give our heartfelt thanks to all miltary personnel who are serving our country and to their families.

And we also wish to thank all who are supporting our cause to bring the thousands of handcrafted cards into the hands of our servicemen and women serving our country in Iraq and Afghanistan.

From Our Hearts received a very touching letter from a grandmother from Tennessee.  She wrote thanking us for sending the boxes of cards to the soldiers and said her grandson had sent her the "most lovely Thanksgiving card."  She thanked us for providing this service to them.

This letter of thanks is for all of you who are helping us to send over these boxes in so many different ways:

* sending us cards

* sending us card fronts

* donating your time and talent

* sending us cash contributions

* sending us supplies

We are impacting many thousands of lives with each shipment of cards mailed each month.

From Our Hearts is truly thankful for all the support we have been given by everyone.

And most of all, we are thankful for our military; for all the sacrifices they make, daily, to protect our freedom.  And for their familes, who support them and who await their return, we thank you for your sacrifices.

Your Contribution Will Go Further

That is correct!  Discover Card will send From Our Hearts a $10 gift card when the first transaction is processed this month!  Will you help us?  Simply put in the amount you wish to donate by credit card and you will be redirected to a secure page and select Discover Card

A $2 donation turns into $12 and will ship over a box of cards.

Who will be the first to help us?  We will announce the name (first only and City, State) with our thanks for helping to support our efforts to get as many cards in the hands of our servicemen and women serving our country in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Where do your contributions go?  They are used for postage to mail the packages, card stock to turn card fronts into cards, adhesive, packing tape, and other supplies and outside services such as accountant and bank fees.  We are a totally volunteer effort.  No one receives any payment or compensation for what we do!

We thank you in advance for your help.

From Our Hearts Mailed 30 Boxes Today to Iraq and Afghanistan

Today was a banner day for From Our Hearts.  All the time, effort, energy that we have spent this week readying 30 boxes of Holiday cards was well worth it - they are in the mail!

Pictures will be forthcoming in the next couple of days.  We are taking a well deserved weekend off!

And to all of you who have not yet heard from us that your boxes have arrived - please be patient, you will receive an e-mail in the next few days.  Our hours are limited as we all have full time jobs in addition to all we do for From Our Hearts and our time this week has been spent to meet the October 31 deadline to get these cards in the mail.

Happy Halloween to all!