Fact Check

Let's Say Thanks

Does LetsSayThanks.com allow the public to send free personalized postcards to U.S. troops serving overseas?

Published July 30, 2006

Claim:

Claim:   The web site LetsSayThanks.com allows the public to send free personalized postcards to U.S. troops serving overseas.


OUTDATED


Examples:   [Collected via e-mail, July 2006]


If you go to the web site at www.letssaythanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services. It is FREE and it only takes a second. I just did it...it's cool give it a try
 

If you go to the web site letssaythanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services. It is FREE and it only takes a second. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? I sent mine, now you can send one too!
 


I thought you might be interested in this new Web site that lets you send a free printed postcard to a U.S. soldier stationed overseas. All you do is pick your favorite card, enter your message and then Xerox does the rest! Visit www.LetsSayThanks.com and send the troops some mail today.


 

Origins:   On 26 June 2006, the Xerox Corporation launched the web site www.LetsSayThanks.com, a free service

that allowed the public to send personal messages to U.S. military personnel serving overseas. Xerox had held similar campaigns in communities such as Atlanta, Phoenix and Washington, D.C., and due to strong positive response, it decided to expand the project nationwide. The messages were sent on postcards designed by children, selected from over 500 entries drawn and submitted by kids across America.

Senders could choose card designs and write personalized messages (of 472 characters or less) to accompany them; once a month the cards were printed in batch at Xerox's facilities in Webster, New York, and distributed (along with packages from Give2TheTroops) to men and women deployed on active duty with all branches of the armed services in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. (Senders could not designate specific persons as the recipients of their cards, but they could opt to have copies of their cards and messages delivered to their homes.)

Xerox has said it would continue to run the "Let's Say Thanks" program as long as there was a need for it:



Xerox does not have plans to stop the program anytime soon.

"We're hoping," [Carl Langsenkamp, V.P. of public relations for Xerox] said. "We'd like to see it end tomorrow if all the men and women came home, but for now we're going to keep it going for the men and women overseas."


Apparently that time came in the latter part of 2011, when Xerox shut down the card-sending option on the LetsSayThanks web site and replaced it with a notice stating that they would henceforth be focusing on donations for the troops:



We are no longer accepting cards through the website.

Let's Say Thanks began more than five years ago as a public way to say "thank you" to the men and women serving our country. Since then, more than 30 million people have visited the website to share their appreciation with our troops through cards featuring children’s artwork from across the country.

In working with our partner organization — Give2TheTroops, a non-profit organization formed to support the physical, moral, and spiritual health of America's armed Give 2 the Troopsforces in combat zones around the world through letters and packages prepared and shipped by volunteers — we've decided to shift the focus of the program to what the troops need most: donations. We will continue to support local cards drives and contests, and we encourage you to continue your support by sending mail, toiletry items or donations via www.give2thetroops.org.


Last updated:   17 December 2011


Sources:




    Butler, Jeri.   "Local Girl's Card Will Cheer on the Troops."

    The Palm Beach Post.   11 July 2006.

    Ferran, Lee.   "Xerox Sends Thanks to Troops."

    ABCNews.com.   13 January 2009.

    Florea, Linda.   "Sick Children Send Thanks to U.S. Troops."

    Orlando Sentinel.   24 November 2008.

    Mazzolini, Chris.   "Quick on the Draw."

    The [Jacksonville, NC] Daily News.   4 July 2006.

    Weisbaum, Herb.   "Want to Send a Card to a Soldier? Here's How."

    MSNBC.com.   12 December 2007.

    Wu. Amy.   "Xerox Offers Web Link to Troops."

    [Rochester] Democrat & Chronicle.   27 June 2006.


David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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