May will be a very busy month at area Post Offices. The best news is that there will not be a First-Class postage increase this year! A one-ounce letter will still cost 44 cents, with additional ounces costing 17 cents. Postal cards are still priced at 28 cents.
Shelter Pet Adopt-a-thon. The Post Office will be offering a Shelter Pet Adopt-a-thon in conjunction with Lee County Domestic Animal Services on Saturday, May 1, at 5600 Banner Drive, Fort Myers. The event coincides with the Post Office’s commemorative stamps now available for purchase; the 44-cent stamps are sold in sheets of 20 cats and dogs. The event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with pet adoptions continuing until 3:30 p.m. Adoptions at the event will be half the regular adoption fee! A variety of activities will be offered including a children’s essay contest, a children’s craft, and face painting. All pets adopted on May 1 will be eligible to win a sheet of photo stamps (official U.S. postage) with either the pet’s image or a family photo with the new pet; a certificate of adoption will be provided along with a first day of sale postmark of one of the pet stamps. Those attending are encouraged to bring in nonperishable pet food or supplies for the Animal Services Community Pet Pantry.
National Letter Carrier Food Drive. The 18th annual “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive will be held on Saturday, May 8. Letter carriers throughout Lee, Collier & Charlotte counties will be collecting nonperishable food items with their regular mail deliveries. Campbell Soup Company provides reminder cards for all postal customers and Publix Supermarkets provide plastic collection bags. Customers are encouraged to place their food by the mailbox prior to the regular delivery time. Food collected will be donated to the Harry Chapin Food Bank for distribution at no cost to its participating agencies. Volunteers are needed on May 8 by both the food bank and the Post Office. Contact either the Harry Chapin Food Bank at 334-7007 or the Post Office at 573-9638.
Mailbox Improvement. Again this year the Post Office is hosting a contest for the “most improved mailbox.” Entries were due by April 30 and the winners will be announced during May, which is Mailbox Improvement Month.
Dogbite Prevention Week. Also in May, the Post Office participates in the annual observance of dog bite prevention. From nips and bites to actual attacks, violent dog behavior continues to pose a serious threat to mail carriers. Letter carriers are the third most likely group to be bitten by a dog. Each year, several thousand Postal Service employees are victimized by dogs. At this point in our nation’s history, even the comedians know that “dog bites man” is no longer a laughing matter. Most people think children and dogs go together naturally, and they often do, but it may shock you to learn that children are the most common victims of dog bites.
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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no direct support from taxpayers. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 28th in the 2009 Fortune 500.
