Friday, June 22, 2012

Heroes Card Drive!!!!!


Hello there!  Welcome to the Heroes Card Drive!

This drive has been months in the making, and we are so excited to bring it to you at last, because it's a cause that's very near and dear to our hearts, and affects at least one of us here at Lawnscaping in a very personal way. 

You may or may not be aware that our sweet Laurel's husband Christian has left just this week on deployment with the U.S. Navy. We wanted to do something similar to Operation Write Home, but specifically for the courageous men and women who work and serve along side Christian on his ship. Those who have each other's backs and are keeping each other safe while they are away from their families.

We would so love for you to get involved. 

We are looking for quality, handmade cards FOR OUR TROOPS TO SEND to their loved ones. Out on the field, many of our soldiers do not have the opportunity to purchase a card to send for their child's birthday or simply to tell their significant other that they love them and are thinking about them. We want to provide them this service.

For the safety and to meet the desires of our troops, we have a few simple guidelines that we would ask you would adhere to:
  • NO STORE BOUGHT CARDS. Cards must be handmade. Use quality products that won't fall off in extreme temperatures. A good quality adhesive is a must. These cards have a long way to travel and once they arrive, they will likely be cherished and kept and perhaps even saved in scrapbooks or collections. Send your best, because our troops and their families deserve nothing less. Make sure that your card will stand the test of time. 
  • ABSOLUTELY NO GLITTER! This is a serious one. Glitter that has flaked off on a soldier's uniform can become a real threat to their lives, as it makes them visible to night-vision goggles. And as anyone who has ever worked with glitter knows, the stuff just gets everywhere. ;o) The last thing we would ever want to do is put one of these brave men and women in harm's way. Glitter glues that do not flake off such as stickles or glitter pens such as Sakura StarDust Jelly Rolls or Copic Atyou Spicas are acceptable.
  •  KEEP IT RELATIVELY FLAT. Some dimension is okay, such as lifting images up with pop dots or adding twine or ribbon, but try to save the buttons and other large, bulky embellishments for other projects. We want to make sure these cards make it through the postal system and arrive at their intended destination in one piece.
  • LEAVE THE INSIDE BLANK. We don't want to use up any space that our heroes could potentially use to write their own personal message to their loved ones. In fact, if you use a dark cardstock for your card base that makes it difficult for someone to write legibly on, we ask that you would line the inside with a white or light colored cardstock so that the recipient has no trouble whatsoever discerning their soldier's words.
  • DO NOT SEAL THE ENVELOPE. We want the troops to be able to open it right up, personalize it and send it to their loved ones. For this purpose, please include one blank envelope with each card INSIDE the envelope you mail them in.
Send cards to: 
Laurel Beard
P. O. Box 15198
Jacksonville, FL 32239

Card themes that the troops have expressed a desire to receive:
  • Birthday
  • Love
  • Thank You
  • Missing You
  • Thinking of You
  • Blank (no sentiment)

Undesired themes:
  • Wish You Were Here
  • Party Invitations
  • Baby/Bridal Announcement
  • To Mommy/Daddy
  • Retirement/other rare themes

We hope that you will all be excited as we are to help out with this incredibly worthy cause. We will begin collecting cards immediately  up through the end of July.

Thank you so much! We appreciate your generosity and can't wait to watch your beautiful cards start rolling in so we can ship them off to our well-deserving heroes!

Please spread the word about this drive. Post this link on all social networking devices. Grab the badge and post it on your blogs linking back to this post!!!! WE WOULD SO GREATLY APPRECIATE IT!!!!!!

EDITED TO ADD: ANYONE CAN PARTICIPATE, REGARDLESS OF WHERE YOU LIVE. NO SPECIFIC STAMPS ARE REQUIRED. USE WHATEVER YOU HAVE. 

30 comments:

  1. What a fantastic idea! The detailed information you've provided is really helpful - Makes it easy to contribute. Finally, hugs to Laurel.

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  2. What a great idea...I have several cards already done I can send...off to make more!

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  3. That's a great point, Calt. All of us probably have a pile of cards that meet these requirements just sitting in our craft rooms, unused. Please consider donating them. Someone should enjoy your beautiful creations, why not our troops and their families? :o)

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  4. I have a silly question... Do the cards have to have lawnfawn stamps? & I'm from Canada... Can I still join and send some cards?

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    1. Hi Grace! not a silly question at all. NO STAMP REQUIREMENTS on the cards. You can use whatever you have in your supplies!!!! And anyone can join in no matter where you are located!!! Thank you so much for wanting to participate in this drive! I hold it so close to my heart and want it to be a HUGE success!!!!!!!!! And people like you are what is going to make it just that....

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  5. DT has done an awesome job. I am part of OWH, that forward cards to the heroes. This is so special for me. Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving the sweet comments. Hugs.

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  6. Laurel, I have several cards already made that I will forward off to you. My thoughts are with you while your husband is deployed. Blessings to you and your lil guy :)

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  7. So happy to find this card drive. I will be happy to send cards. It is a wonderful idea.

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  8. I'm so glad to see that you're starting this card drive! I will go through my stash, and start making new cards right now!
    (((HUGS))) to you and your little guy, Lauren!!!

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  9. OMGosh, I am so sorry that I misspelled your name, Laurel!

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  10. Laurel, so sorry you are going through a rough time. I am thinking go thoughts and will send you some cards.

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  11. Great idea. It would be an honor to participate. Will share the link on my blog too!
    :)

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  12. I'm already thinking of cards I can send. What a great idea! It's such a small request that can make a big difference! This may sound like a rookie question, but i just don't know! :( do we use just 1 regular postage stamp on the blank envelope?

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    1. Samantha, I don't believe you need to add any postage. Just include one blank envelope with each card that you send. For example, if you send five cards, you would put your five cards and five blank envelopes inside a manilla or shipping envelope which you would address to Laurel, take to the post office (or weigh and print out postage at USPS.com) and send just as you would any other package.

      Hope that helps. :o)

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    2. perfect! thanks christiana!! :)

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  13. Just shared on Google and hope to make some cards to send you really soon...thank you for doing this sweetie

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  14. I was just wondering if there is a timeframe that we should send them by/how long the collection will go on, etc...thank you for the info and what a great project.

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  15. sorry, just found my answer...

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  16. this is a wonderful idea!!! will start making cards now :)
    have posted on my blog and fb about the drive!!

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  17. Some of the other organizations that want cards for our service men and women specify only A2 cards. Do you have a specific size in mind or will any sized card be OK. It is interesting that you are located in Jacksonville, I am too. My husband was a disabled US Marine and is no longer with us so I would be honored to help out.

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  18. Can like cards be sent or do they all need to be different?

    Thanks,
    Johnna

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  19. A package is on its way from Alabama! Bless you, Laurel, and all the military spouses that sacrifice while their loved ones are deployed! Hugs to you and prayers for the safe return of your husband!!

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  20. This is such a fantastic thing you're doing! I finished mine today and will be mailing them next week. I also posted about this on my blog, Facebook and craft tumblr blog in hopes others will be inspired to send more your way.

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  21. Do we need to sign/label the backs of the cards in any certain way? (I'm so used to putting an OWH label on most of my cards... but I don't mind diverting some of them to Laurel! ;)

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  22. Laurel, I hope you received the package I sent from Canada =)

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  23. What a great cause and your instructions are perfect!!

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  24. A package is on its way from Germantown, MD but OOOPS... when I returned from the post office I realized the note I meant to include for you was still on my desk. Thanks for giving us an opportunity to support our troops. Hoping the time passes quickly and safely for you and your family.

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  25. I have made my cards and they are on the way i have send them for the participating.

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Thank you for taking the time to leave us a comment. For immediate questions, please email Laurel at laurelkbeard at gmail dot com. Have a super day!