the mail ... and more
11 a.m....yep...nice 'n' quite out here...just how we like it...contact with the rest of the world? Well, that's what the Postal Service is for.
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Is the mail important? No doubt about
it. It's the center of a huge part of the
American economy. The Postal Service
is the heart of a $900 billion industry that
employs 9 million of your friends and
neighbors.
But numbers only tell part of the story.
For more than 225 years, the mail has
been a:
Messenger of sympathy and love,
Servant of parted friends,
Consoler of the lonely,
Bond of the scattered family,
Enlarger of the common life,
Carrier of news and knowledge,
Instrument of trade and industry,
Promoter of mutual acquaintance,
Of peace and of goodwill among men and nations.
Stirring words. In fact, they're carved
into the cornice of the former
Washington, DC, City Post Office, now
the site of the Smithsonian Institution's
National Postal Museum. They describe
the power of the mail. They just as accurately
describe the caring men and
women of the Postal Service.
These are the men and women who
this year collected almost 62 million
pounds of food to help "Stamp Out
Hunger" as part of the eleventh annual
National Association of Letter Carriers
Food Drive. Since 1993, they collected
an incredible 587 million pounds of food
from caring customers along their routes.
These are the men and women who
deliver the gift of life through their participation
in the National Marrow Donor
Program. Since 1997, some 18,000
postal employees have volunteered as
marrow donors. And more than 40 have
delivered the gift of life to someone in
need.
These are the men and women who,
in cities large and small, take the time
each holiday season to help Santa with his mail. They work to bring the magic of
the season to thousands of children and
families whose dreams might otherwise
be unfulfilled.
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These are the men and women who are the caring and watchful eyes for the elderly and disabled in their communities. On some days, they're the only point of human contact for home-bound customers. Through the Carrier Alert program, postal employees work with local agencies, such as the United Way, the Red Cross or the Agency on Aging, when they notice changes in routines that could mean a customer is in distress.
These are the men and women who rode with or supported the Tour of Hope, whose one-week, cross-country cycling journey inspired thousands to learn more about cancer research and the importance of clinical trials. The Team's journey took them through 14 states, beginning in Los Angeles and ending with a triumphant entry into Washington, DC, led by Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor, leader of the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team and five-time winner of the Tour de France.
We're serious about the mail. We're just as serious about helping to make the communities we serve the same communities where we live as good as they can be. That's why we care so much about our role as "enlargers of the common life." It's what we do.
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