Let’s Say Thanks 500,000 Times
Wishing our armed forces well with half a million postcards
“Thank You for keeping our country safe” … “Thank you for continuing our freedom” … “Thank you soldiers” … “E Pluribus Unum” … “We have Gratitude for you” … pictures of the Statue of Liberty, our nation’s flag, apple pie, bumblebees and rabbits.
These sentiments and images are expressed on postcards created by children across the nation for our soldiers overseas. Not every sentiment is spelled right … or grammatically correct … or even particularly well drawn in some cases. However, each sentiment is heartfelt and very expressive of their gratitude.
These children got the chance to let these soldiers know how they feel, and at Rapid Solutions Group, we’re getting the same opportunity. We are getting a very special chance to provide a good thing for our national community. We are giving citizens in every state and territory the ability to express their thoughts and well wishes to the troops with our commitment to printing 500,000 of these postcards to send to deployed U.S. forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world.
“America’s well wishes combined with the children’s artwork coming off the production press are uplifting and sure to inspire the troops,” says Julia Lombardo, vice president, Marketing & Design. “We are proud to do our part to support the men and women of the armed services."
The effort is called Let’s Say Thanks, a program initiated by Xerox Corporation as a free and easy way for the public to send messages to U.S. servicemen and women stationed overseas. Simply go to www.letssaythanks.com, select from 30 colorful cards with patriotic themes designed by students (ages 6-14) across the country, select a message or write your own and hit “send.” Already, more than 10.5 million people have sent well wishes to the troops. Now it’s our turn — the next half-million is on us.
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One person has already learned of our involvement in the Let’s Say Thanks program. She used the Web site to send her own card, and she took some time to let us know via e-mail how much she appreciates our involvement: “Hey — just heard about your postcards for the troops. I just filled one out, but wanted to also thank you folks for doing this. YOU ROCK!!” Susie Dobyns |
According to Julia Lombardo, we became involved due to our Premier Partner status with Xerox. “Earlier this year, Xerox came to us with a proposition to join this effort,” says Julia. “They would provide the postcard stock, add our logo to the card and pay for shipping. All we had to do is print it.”
Of course, that is easier said than done. There were a few hurdles for our Let’s Say Thanks postcard team to jump over before we could get everything online. Terry Butts, James Nwachukwu, David McBean and Mark Pizarro each played an integral role in getting us up and running on the project.
“One issue we had to overcome was our name on the postcard,” says James. “It was fuzzy. We worked with Digital Prepress and Pizarro to make it bigger and add our URL. We tested, tweaked and tested it again. No problem, though, you just feel good about doing something like this. Your payment is in the feeling of fulfillment for doing it.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by everyone on the team. As Mark says, “I’m glad we’re doing this — as much for the people at home as for the troops.”
Our part of the project went live May 1st, and we’ve already literally printed thousands of these postcards. But the effort and energy we’re expending on the enterprise isn’t wasted. It’s a good thing. Our involvement reflects well on our corporation … and on us individually.
At the end of the day, Terry may have said it best: “Participating in the program displays great corporate goodwill. But more than that, in the scheme of things, it’s just the right thing to do.”
September 15, 2007