Card Drive Contest
Cards for Heroes (cardsforheroes.org) is a non-profit organization devoted to bringing hope to soldiers overseas by means of handmade cards. They are made up of thousands of private citizens (paper crafters, card-makers, and artisans) who have come together through our common love of craft and their desire to honor our armed forces serving on our behalf. Regardless of what we think about the conflicts currently going on around the world, we as crafters can agree that our heroes are brave, honorable, and deserve our support. These cards allow them to keep in touch with their loved ones, and thus we get to also bless the families who bravely keep the candle burning in the window at home.
These cards are delivered to troops overseas in bulk shipments. The cards are placed in areas where soldiers can come choose their own, fill them out, and send them back to loved ones at home for free. For families waiting at home, the cards come as blessings from our soldiers and as a reminder of how much we are loved from afar. It may not seem like a lot, but after not hearing from them for long periods of time, that little handmade card with our loved ones handwriting inside is the whole world to an Army wife, like myself. Even more important is the excitement on my son’s face as he opens a card addressed directly to him from his Daddy.
ScrapStreet is teaming up with Cards for Heroes again this year to bring even more hope to our soldiers and military families! Starting Saturday, August 8th, our semi-annual CFH card drive will begin. To honor this year’s donators, we will be holding a contest with some fabulous prizes! We will have three Grand Prizes up for grabs in three different categories:
- Most Creative Card!
- Most Cards Created!
- And one Grand Prize chosen random from all our donators.
There will also be random prizes given out to the winners of our semi-weekly challenges! All winners will also be published in a future issue of our magazine!
How to Enter:
To enter this great contest, simply register on our forums and introduce yourself in our Cards for Heroes area anytime from August 1st through the 7th. The contest will promptly start on August 8th with our first semi-weekly challenge.
During the course of the contest, you will also want to make as many cards as you can in one (or ALL!) of four categories:
- General Cards (Hello, Thinking of you, etc…)
- Love You/Miss You
- Cards for Military Kids
- Christmas Cards
A final photo of ALL your cards, along with your total number, will be submitted to our gallery for entry to our Most Cards Created prize!
Also, you will want to upload your favorite, most creative card to our gallery to put yourself in the running for our Most Creative Card prize!
Important Information:
- Contest is open to all US and International entries.
- All cards with envelopes will have to be mailed to a specified address and postmarked no later than September 8th. This will be at the contestant’s expense. The bulk of all cards received will be mailed to CFH in one large shipment. Soldiers will be able to pick out your cards and mail them to their loved ones for free!
- A winner will be announced based on “good faith” for our Most Cards Created prize but the grand prize will not be mailed out until we have received the box of cards from the contestant and confirmed the number of cards created.
- No store-bought cards will be accepted. CFH and our contest are only accepting cards that have been handmade.
- NO glitter! Glitter gets on soldiers uniforms and makes them visible to night-vision goggles. Bling and shimmer pens are acceptable.
Testimonies from the CFH site:
From a military spouse:My husband is currently serving in Afghanistan, and I just received a BEAUTIFUL handmade card in the mail from him - I knew he couldn't have created that himself! He had pressed flowers into the card, making it even more special. What a sweet thing you all are doing. I know that not having to purchase or create his own cards is going to make him want to send them! Thanks for lightening his load and for brightening my day.One EXTREMELY grateful wife,Sarah :)
From Iraq: Thank you very much for your beautiful cards. Everyone loves them; they must come from angels!LTC J.T.
From a military parent: I just got a call from my daughter-in-law @ Fort Hood. She had just received a Mother's Day card from her husband in Iraq and related to me what a beautiful card it was and how much it meant to her to have received a "CARDS FOR HEROES" card. Thank you to all of you. As an Army retiree spouse my husband and I thank you from the bottom of your hearts for your work. It means the world to all of us. We will be sending your organization a donation--Keep up the good work! You have touched more lives in a positive way than you will probably ever know.
From Afghanistan: I have a hilarious story to share with you. I am from Tennessee and we just had several tornadoes run through middle Tennessee. The news was telling everyone to take cover. My two teenage daughters and two toddler sons went into a closet that is under our stairs (our safest place in our house). My Mom went in to check on them after the storm had passed and all four of them were asleep. She looked down and both girls had taken some important things with them (just in case the house blew away and that is all that survived) Both girls had their shoebox with all of your cards in them, their arms wrapped tightly around it. My oldest had her prom dress, prom shoes and prom jewelry also! I thought it was hilarious because they were convinced that the house was going to blow away and that is all they cared about. Too funny.CW3 T.B.
From Iraq:On behalf of the 47th Combat Support Hospital we would like to extend our appreciation for your package which we received on April 17, 2009. The impact mail has on the morale of soldiers is unimaginable. The cards you send were a hit! Between some 100+ soldiers almost all of the cards have been taken in only one hour which we have offered them out. While deployed we have the opportunity to send mail for free up to a certain weight. Being able to get a free card and free postage has been an incredible morale boost and support to the soldiers. It better enables them to keep in touch with their spouses, children, and other loved ones. The handmade cards add a big personal touch! All packages we receive are distributed out amongst the soldiers of the unit and the patients which they care for.
Chaplain H and Specialist B make up the Unit Ministry Team (UMT). We provide support to all soldiers and patients. The UMT plays an essential role in religious support and morale of the soldiers. Often soldiers will come to us seeking moral, ethical, and spiritual guidance. It is our goal to provide the best care and support to them as possible! We are able to support our Soldiers because we have support from the amazing citizens of our Great Nation!
Your dedication to supporting Soldiers is appreciated so much! Sending more cards would be wonderful, especially blank, birthday, and holiday specific cards such as Father's Day! Thank you so much for everything! SPC S.B.
For more information or to sign up, please visit our contest forums here.
