Our employees not only are the faces of public service in communities across the nation — they give back in many ways, from collecting food for families in need to raising awareness about important issues to even helping save lives.
During the annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, our letter carriers collected more than 80 million pounds of food donated by customers on their routes and destined for local food banks, pantries or shelters. It was the 12th consecutive year that more than 70 million pounds were collected and surpassed the previous record of 77 million pounds. Since the program began, more than 1.5 billion pounds of food has been collected. Stamp Out Hunger, the nation’s largest single-day food drive, was launched in 1993 by the National Association of Letter Carriers and is supported by the Postal Service. Canned and non-perishable items are collected by 230,000 letter carriers and other Postal Service employees in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and Guam.
Each year in May, the Postal Service supports National Dog Bite Prevention Week. This public safety campaign builds awareness concerning animal attacks. Nationwide, 6,549 Postal Service employees were attacked in calendar year 2015. Of the 4.5 million Americans bitten by dogs annually, half are children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Postal Service, medical community, veterinarians and insurance industry are working together to educate the public that dog bites are avoidable.
Since 1985, the Postal Service has worked in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Valassis to reunite families with missing children. Valassis publishes the RedPlum circular that showcases the “Have You Seen Me?” photos.
This program — America’s Looking For Its Missing Children® — is widely recognized as one of the nation’s most effective public service initiatives. It is responsible for the safe recovery of 148 missing children.
The Postal Service also publishes photos and information in the Postal Bulletin, adding over 600,000 employees to the effort to find America’s missing children.
For more information, go to www.missingkids.com or http://www.valassis.com/about-us/community/missing-kids.aspx.
Each year, Postal Service employees go beyond the call of duty, some even risking their own safety, to save the lives of the customers they serve. Hundreds have been recognized as heroes over the years. At its annual recognition event in Washington, DC, the Postal Service and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) honored Rock Hill, SC, letter carrier Mark Pizzo as the 2016 National Hero of the Year. Pizzo risked injury to save a 7-year old girl who was being mauled by a vicious dog.
The Postal Service, the National Marrow Donor Program and the Be the Match Foundation created the “Delivering the Gift of Life” campaign 18 years ago. To date, more than 58,000 Postal Service employees and their families have joined the donor registry. More than 80 have become donors, helping critically ill patients. The Postal Service has now aligned its efforts with Be the Match, focusing on individuals between the ages of 18 and 44. For more information on Be The Match and how to become a marrow donor, go to www.bethematch.org.
Since 1912, Postal Service employees, charities and individual and corporate volunteers have helped children and families in need experience the magic of the holiday season by answering letters to Santa. This year the Postal Service is celebrating the 104th anniversary of the Operation Santa program as it continues to fulfill the dreams of children nationwide. More than one hundred years later, our employees, volunteers and organizations remain committed to making children’s Christmas wishes come true.
The Postal Service has Operation Santa sites in action around the country. In the vast number of locations, our employees respond to the letters by providing a written response signed by Santa, while other Post Offices may work with local schools, municipalities and community groups who volunteer for the joyous task.
Each year, however, in select Post Offices the general public is invited to “adopt” Santa letters. In all locations where the public may adopt letters written to Santa, strict privacy guidelines are in place. Any member of the public choosing to adopt a letter may simply respond in writing or if they choose, grant the wish, a decision that is left to the individual.
New York City’s Operation Santa serves as the largest public adoption Post Office in the country. A “Big Apple” tradition that has changed very little since the 1940s and one which continues to thrive to the delight of those who visit the iconic James A. Farley building, in the heart of the Manhattan.
The Postal Service and Postal Inspection Service dedicate one week in March every year — National Consumer Protection Week — to educate consumers about identity theft and other fraud schemes and provide tools and information to combat these crimes.
