Cardmakers seek to help veterans, military personnel
For the past several years, a group called the Women of Monroe County have been participating in Operation Write Home, an organization that sends handmade greeting cards to deployed military personnel.
The women meet twice a month and work under the guidelines provided by OWH to produce thousands of cards each year.
Sharon Neill and Lisa Dean have been two of the driving forces behind the card making and the Women of Monroe County’s participation and continued enthusiasm.
Dean said they have been doing this since January 2010.
“Sharon discovered Operation Write Home on the Internet, and we decided we wanted to participate since we’re both heavy crafters,” Dean said.
By April, they were very busy making cards and sending them forward.
Operation Write Home support continues from a local crafting group. Pictured, from left, are Mary Kaiser, Rita Dietz, Megan Brand, Cheryl Schmitz, Cyndi Antry, Nancy Sennetti, Denise Wadlow, and Mary Vahlcamp. Recently, the fifth annual Christmas-in-July event culminated in the completion of 512 Christmas cards to be sent to deployed troops. (submitted photo)“We’ve averaged more than 2,000 Christmas cards and 2,000 ‘other occasion’ cards since that point in time,” she said. “This is our fifth year, and by Christmas, we will have gone over the 20,000 mark.”
The first Thursday of the month, they meet at 6:30 p.m. at the Morrison-Talbott Library in Waterloo.
They also meet the third Tuesday of the month at 9:30 a.m. at First Baptist Church in Waterloo.
Operation Write Home was primarily started for the deployed soldiers in Afghanistan, but Dean said the majority of them have returned home or are returning home.
“Only 20 units have requested Christmas cards,” Dean said. “We already had our Christmas in July event where we made 1,200 cards.”
While they want to celebrate the stateside return of many military personnel from overseas deployments, the group still has a passion for both serving the military and for making greeting cards.
Besides Operation Write Home, the card-makers are exploring supporting the USOs at St. Louis Lambert Field and Ft. Leonard Wood; providing veteran thank-you cards to various Waterloo community programs; and working with veteran support programs through the Veterans Administration or Scott AFB.
They are also looking at expanding to working with senior and children’s programs for celebrating birthdays, holidays and other life events.
At most of their meetings, they have about eight to 15 people crafting, and they want to keep momentum going.
“We’re always looking for new members,” Dean said.
For more information on joining the crafting gatherings, contact Sharon Neill at 618-772-8075 or Lisa Dean at 314-249-7742.
