Christmas cards for soldiers overseas

It’s never too early to start writing Christmas cards for soldiers.

At least, that is what Green River resident Harry Holler thinks.

Once again, Holler is spearheading the campaign for Christmas Cards for Soldiers; and he is asking the community for help. The program started about five or six years ago.

Holler has already contacted both county school districts so they can pass the information onto the faculty and students.

Holler was proud to say residents who visit the Golden Hour Senior Center have agreed to write some cards, but he is also hoping local Boy Scout, Girl Scout and church organizations will also help out.

“Since the Red Cross decided they are not going to pay for Christmas cards anymore, the City of Green River is going to pick up the cost,” Holler said.

This turned out to be a good thing because there are no more restrictions on what can be written on cards. Holler said a child or adult can write any message they want to the solider.

They must include their name, city and state on the bottom of the card so the soldier will know where the card came from. No envelopes are needed.

Some families and residents in town have taken the Christmas card program to heart. Holler said one lady gave him 100 cards and one family is going to give the VFW 3,000.

“As soon as they hand over that 3,000, they will start on another 3,000,” Holler said. “They work on them throughout the year.”

Last year, the communities wrote cards for 12,000 soldiers, but Harry said that was less than the year before, which was around 15,000. He is always wanting to raise more so every soldier can receive a card.

All of the cards must be turned into the Green River Community Development Department or the Rock Springs City Hall by Dec. 9. The community development department will count all of the cards. Holler said if residents could count the cards and let the employees know how many is in a bunch that would really help out.

Holler has posted his mission on Facebook and is hoping other communities outside of Sweetwater County and even Wyoming will see it.

“A lot of people don’t do this,” Holler said. “There’s a lot of stuff going on in this area that is not done in other places.”

As for where the idea came from, Holler said he cannot recall.

“I get to thinking and thinking about what we can do for our soldiers,” he said.

Holler said the program would not be a success if it weren’t for those writing out Christmas cards.