STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2009--More than 1.4 million holiday cards for service members, veterans and
military families were received through Holiday
Mail for Heroes, a joint initiative of Pitney
Bowes and the American
Red Cross. Messages from Americans of thanks, support and holiday
cheer went to service men and women at more than 300 military bases and
hospitals, veteran's hospitals, and other locations in the U.S. and
around the world.
From November 11 until December 10, 2008, the public sent holiday cards
to a special post office box. Pitney Bowes and the Red Cross screened
cards for hazardous materials, sorted and packaged the cards, and
delivered them to military installations and hospitals around the world.
The 1.4 million cards received were more than double the number of cards
from 2007, when nearly 600,000 cards were received, screened, sorted and
delivered.
"Pitney Bowes is honored to have participated in this important
initiative for the second year in a row with the American Red Cross,"
said Jon Love, President of Pitney
Bowes Government Solutions. "The outpouring of cards sent by the
public with messages of thanks, support and holiday cheer to service men
and women, veterans and military families was truly inspirational and
helped make the 'Holiday Mail for Heroes' program a huge success."
Media outlets across the country covered the story, and First Lady Laura
Bush gave the support of the White House to the program when she joined
a card sorting event in Washington, DC on Dec. 6. Red Cross chapters in
17 locations around the country received cards for sorting and worked
with Pitney Bowes to distribute them to deserving members of the
military and their families.
"I was confident we would collect one million cards for our service
members, and I'm thrilled to see that the American people responded and
pushed us far beyond that goal," said Sherri Brown, Senior Vice
President of Service to the Armed Forces for the American Red Cross.
"This would never have been possible if people weren't willing to take
some time out of their busy holiday schedules to send a greeting to a
service member, and for that we are so grateful."
For additional information on "Holiday Mail for Heroes," please visit: www.redcross.org/holidaymail.
About Pitney Bowes:
Pitney Bowes is a mailstream technology company that helps
organizations manage the flow of information, mail, documents and
packages. Our 36,000 employees deliver technology, service and
innovation to more than two million customers worldwide. The
company was founded in 1920 and annual revenues now total $6.4 billion.
More information is available at www.pb.com.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and counsels victims of
disasters; provides nearly half of the nation's blood supply; teaches
lifesaving skills; and supports military members and their families. The
Red Cross is a charitable organization - not a government agency - and
depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to
perform its humanitarian mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org
or join our blog at www.redcrosschat.org.
CONTACT: Pitney Bowes Inc.
Karen King,203-351-6189
karen.king@pb.com
or
Red Cross Public Affairs
Lesly Simmons,202-303-5551
Media@usa.redcross.org
Source: Pitney Bowes
