Happy New Year to the Holiday Card Challenge Community! I hope that 2023 brings joy, health, peace, and hope!

2022 was a banner year…a record breaking year for the Holiday Card Challenge! And it is the #ittakesavillage efforts from across the Nation that made it a gold medal year! 224,000 cards sent out for the Winter Holidays and between the various “mini-challenges”, another 16,000 had been distributed to our Troops, Veterans, and to their Families!! SURREAL!!

The cards came from across the Country and Canada and the Netherlands, all to support our Warriors and to decrease the airspace between us and them! There were so many repeat “customers”, especially from schools across our Nation! And so many new ones to welcome aboard!! The DAR identified us as part of their Project Patriot, challenging each Chapter to write 250 cards and for the NEXT THREE YEARS! Businesses, small and large joined in and the generosity of so many made it possible to send out your cards. THe Sponsor A Box Program was a big success even more this year, with boxes of 1,000 cards sent out identifying loud- n- clear who sponsored the box. Imagine that $100.00 usually can cover the costs of sending 1,000 cards! I hear back from recipients that seeing those sponsors warms their hearts, knowing that individuals, families, and businesses are supporting them as well. Pleas check out GIVEBUTTER.com on ways to partner with us. There is a direct link on the website.

We did some “new” things… HAPPY SPRING Cards, Cards for Ukrainian families and children, #blankets4babiesbornonbases, a hand delivery of cards and donated Girl Scout Cookies to the MIlitary Staff at the US Embassy in Jerusalem, a WHAT IS YOUR WHY video campaign, a new DOE video, created by the NH DOE, to all 50 States challenging them to join in, GIvebutter donation campaigns for specific companies at their request, embraced the local United Way VOlunteer Bank to help with proofreading , counting and bundling your cards, invited businesses and student groups to do the same, Fidelity Investments engaged with us using our platform and products to do their own Challenge, and of course the wonderfully successful QR Code inclusion with all cards that allowed the recipients of your cards to take a photo with their cards and load it directly to our Facebook Page- HOLIDAY CARD CHALLENGE!!

And of course we kept our classics… meeting and greeting with groups and schools, visiting our Veterans in various locations, had amazing opportunities to be interviewed by the media , met with our Nation’s Government Leaders to advocate for MIlitary issues and of course to have them sign cards…

A huge thank you goes to all of the volunteers both here in NH and across the Country who organized card signings and who proofread, counted, and bundled hundreds of thousands of cards. A special shout out the the Hollis-Brookline Cucumbers for picking up and dropping off those cards so that they could be packed up and mailed. A shout out of gratitude goes to those businesses who offered to be drop stations across the Country and to the thousands of US Postal Workers who handled all your cards, especially those at the Hollis NH Post Office who opened early and closed late for processing the boxes of cards!!

So many thank you-s to so many of you… please know that it truly takes a village and each one of you made this , once again, a MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

OK sooooo… 2023. . A mini Valentines Day Challenge is underway and we would love to send out your cards of <3! Same format: Dear Warrior Happy Valentines Day A message of gratitude. Hometown news about fav hobbies, valentines traditions, classes, sports, books…sign first name ONLY NO ENVELOPES City and State. Funny, serious or both. Decorate them as much as you want. Enjoy!!!

The deadline is February 4th. Send to PO BOX 103 HOLLIS NH 03049

More to come…..