As a continuing effort to offer unique ways for our customers to connect with their client base, we listened to what they wanted to see in American Lifestyle magazine. Overwhelmingly, we heard requests for ways to honor and thank the members of our country’s military. We researched a lot about veterans—statistics, patriotic craft ideas, ways to say thank you—and we decided on the theme of gratitude. During that research, we were introduced to a wonderful organization that was serving in the area of our theme—and with “gratitude” in the name!

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Operation Gratitude annually sends 250,000+ care packages filled with snacks, entertainment, hygiene products, handmade items, plus personal letters of appreciation to New Recruits, Veterans, First Responders, individually-named U.S. Service Members deployed overseas, and Wounded Heroes and their caregivers. Their mission is to lift the spirits and meet the evolving needs of our First Responder, Active Duty, and Veteran communities. More than 95% of all financial donations are devoted to Program Services.

The Friday before Memorial Day, 2016, we closed business early and set up a barbecue with stations to assemble hygiene product care packages, weave paracord bracelets, and write personal letters to veterans and active military members. We used letter templates that our design team created as part of our special edition content in Issue 78, and we set up a fun competition with teams to see who could assemble the most bracelets and care packages.

With nearly 100 employees participating in the event, the teams collectively assembled 300 care kits containing nine hygiene items each, wove 300 paracord bracelets, and wrote over 100 letters. Each member of the winning team walked away with a gift card, but the real win was getting involved in an event that impacted the lives of the men and women sacrificing their lives, time, and safety for our freedom.

ReminderMedia employees who served in the military posed for some pictures and shared their experiences—including how important it was to know that someone was thinking about them while serving. It gave all of us an appreciation for the little things we can do to make a big difference.

We thanks our veterans, (from left to right) Dalton Quigley, Josh Kressler, Larry Jay, Luke Johnson, Mark Randall, and (name here).

You don’t have to create your own team event to get involved (although you can here), as there are many ways to give back. Write a letter to a troop, send a care package, or simply give a monetary donation to organizations like Operation Gratitude.

When you sign up for American Lifestyle magazine’s Veterans Edition, ReminderMedia will donate funds to Operation Gratitude to send one care package for each new enrollment. You can also share social media posts on veterans-related content from americanlifestylemag.com.

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