Saying Thank You to Our Troops

If you don’t live in the Atlanta area (or Nashville or Indianapolis), you probably haven’t heard of The Bert Show.  They’re a local area morning radio show, and they’re attempting to do something that I feel is pretty awesome.

For Thanksgiving this year, they’re trying to collect 400,000 handwritten thank you letters to send to American troops that are stationed outside of the United States, to make sure every single one receives a piece of mail on the holiday.  The last time they attempted this, they were able to get 375,000 letters – so this year, the goal has been increased!

What a fabulous way to give back, in such a simple way, to those that are out there fighting for and protecting our freedom!

If you’d like to participate, I’ve copied the pertinent information from their website below regarding the format of the letter (it must be handwritten) and where to send or drop off the letters.  Please check out their site for more details and sound clips from them discussing it on air.

Growing up in an Air Force base town, I’ve had a lot of interaction with families and friends in the military.  I’ve seen friends’ spouses post about their husband or wife’s deployment.  Seen pictures of the kids when their parent has returned from being away for so long. I cannot imagine living that life, but I’m thankful for those that do (and those that have in the past).  Those that unselfishly give of their time and energy to protect our great country.

That being said, I challenge you to write a letter, to get your office involved, to get your friends involved.  If you’re in college, get the organizations you’re involved with to participate and write letters.  This is definitely something that everyone can do!  If you blog, post a blog about it.  If you tweet, send a tweet.  It’s easy to spread the word, so please do!

The deadline for letters is next Friday, October 28th – so get moving and say thank you to those important people who often don’t get credited for the amazing and tough work that they’ve been charged with!

 

LETTER FORMAT (taken from The Bert Show’s website)

Each letter should be heartfelt, handwritten, original, and free of any political statements.  The purpose of the letter is to express thanks to the military personnel currently deployed outside the United States.  We reserve the right to eliminate those messages that are political in nature and do not reflect a positive message in the spirit of Thanksgiving.  Those letters will be destroyed.

All letters must be on 8.5” x 11” paper or smaller.  Do not use glue, tape, staples, cardboard, glitter or otherwise attach anything to the paper.  Decorate using crayons, pencil, etc.  Use both sides if you like, but use one page per letter only.  Do not send cards or photographs.  Feel free to include your mailing and email address, and you may get a response.  Individual letters should not be sealed in envelopes.

Do not send anything except letters.  We cannot accept donations of any kind, and they should not be included or attached to letters.

 

Where to send the letters:

Mail or Drop Off at:
WWWQ-FM / Q100 Atlanta
780 Johnson Ferry Road NE
Fifth Floor
Atlanta, GA  30342

Atlanta Drop-Off:
A BIG thank you to all Atlanta Taco-Mac restaurants, which will (starting Wednesday, October 5), be serving as the drop off-points for The Big Thank You letters!  View all Taco Mac drop-off locations (pdf).

Nashville Drop-Off:
i106 WNFN
10 Music Circle East
Nashville, TN 37203

Indianapolis Drop-Off:
i94 Indy’s Hit Music Station
6810 North Shadeland Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46220

 

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