Holiday for heroes: Red Cross to spread holiday cheer, gratitude to Military troops and veterans

ActionNewsJax.com News Staff
·2 min read

The American Red Cross of North Florida is gearing up for this year’s holiday season with the launch of its annual Holiday for Heroes initiative. With a longstanding tradition, Holiday for Heroes offers residents throughout North Florida a unique opportunity to express their care and appreciation for military heroes.

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Holiday for Heroes invites the community to write heartfelt messages and contribute items for holiday care packages, destined for active-duty military personnel deployed around the globe and local veterans residing in hospitals or nursing homes. These thoughtful notes and donated items are generously provided by residents and lovingly placed inside handcrafted holiday stockings crafted by dedicated volunteers.

Working in collaboration with partners, the Red Cross will assemble and deliver these stockings, brimming with expressions of gratitude and donated items, to military members and veterans who find themselves away from their families during the holiday season.

Christian Smith, CEO of the American Red Cross of North Florida, expressed the organization’s commitment to serving the military community, saying, “The Red Cross commits to serving the military community at every step -- from the time a service member takes the oath to navigate life as a veteran. Working with our service members and veterans day-to-day, I understand how much they sacrifice for our country and how much community support means to them, especially over the holidays.”

Here’s How You Can Get Involved:

  • Purchase items for care packages from your preferred online retailer and have them shipped directly to the Red Cross collection site at 751 Riverside Avenue, Jacksonville, FL 32204.

  • Visit the Holiday for Heroes online registry at www.redcross.org/holiday4heroes to purchase items. During checkout, please select the auto-populated American Red Cross option as your shipping address.

  • To arrange a drop-off of collected items at your nearest Red Cross office, please contact the Service to Armed Forces at 904-999-3547 to coordinate.

  • Join the Red Cross in supporting the daily work with military members in the Armed Forces by becoming a volunteer at redcross.org/volunteer.

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About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross is dedicated to sheltering, feeding, and providing emotional support to disaster victims, supplying approximately 40 percent of the nation’s blood, imparting life-saving skills, offering international humanitarian aid, and supporting military members and their families. As a not-for-profit organization, the Red Cross relies on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to carry out its mission.

For more information, please visit redcross.org/NorthFlorida or connect with us on social media @RedCrossNorthFL.

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