Winners & Postcard Project Update

Warning: This post is heavy on bold print and exclamation points.  Sorry if you’re easily dismayed by such overusages!  I am an effusive person by nature and if I didn’t express that in my writing, it wouldn’t be me. :)

Since I had to sort through comments that weren’t entries for the Eggland’s Best prize pack, I did the drawing the old-fashioned way and wrote down the names of everyone  who entered (multiple times for those of you who had extra entries), cut them out, folded them, and put them in a bowl for Dennis to draw one.  So you can’t blame me if you’re mad you didn’t win! It’s all his fault.  :)  And the winner is…

Britany!

Check your email, Britany, and reply back to me with your address so I can forward it to Eggland’s Best.

Now for The Postcard Project winner!  I did this one the same way, putting the names of those who had any number at all in the “completed” column on the PP spreadsheet onto paper and having Dennis draw one.  And the winner of a dozen of my blue ribbon chocolate chip cookies is…

Jenna Satterthwaite!

I already have your address, Jenna, from the last giveaway you won, so you don’t have to contact me–I’ll get your cookies out to you on Monday!

I am just so excited about this project it’s very hard for me to not talk about it every time I blog!  We’ve kicked off the first week with 17 amazing people, and 117 pieces of mail!  If we can get that much sent out the first week, just think how much more once the word starts to spread and more and more people join the effort!  This is how change is made.  One person at a time.

Please help spread the word about this project by linking to it (use this page’s link) on Facebook, on Twitter, and pinning it on Pinterest or any other site you use.  If you have a blog, you could put a button with the logo on your sidebar that links to The Postcard Project page of my blog.  (If I figure out how to make the code for a button, I will update with it next Saturday.)  One idea that I hope to execute soon is to have a “Postcard Project” party and have a bunch of friends come over to create homemade cards for loved ones and if that appeals to you, have a party of your own!  I want to make this explode!

I want to put a disclaimer here before anyone gets a wrong impression about my motivation for the project.  I’m asking for you to spread the word, which will inevitably garner more attention for my blog, but I promise you that I’m not self-promoting.  I have no reason to.  As you can see on my side bar, I have no advertisers over there.  I’ve never signed up with Foodbuzz or affiliates and do not get paid for what I do here.  I don’t have a problem with bloggers who do, in fact I don’t think I know more than a handful that don’t have affiliates, but I enjoy blogging as a hobby and want to keep it that way, at least for now.  So if this project gets my blog more attention, I won’t be benefitting from it financially at all.  That’s not why I’m doing this.

I started this project for the two reason I have already stated:

1) To spread joy & cheer (which this world could always use more of!)

2)  To support the US Postal Service.

If you’re reading this right now, I want you to join me in this effort!  Let’s get excited about this!  Yes, I’m asking for action, which I know is harder than slapping down money when someone asks for help.  But I don’t want your money.  I want your Grandma’s face to light up when she sees a “thinking of you” card from you in her mailbox, and I want your niece in the military to burst into tears when she gets a letter from you.  You can’t put a price on that.

Together, we can save the dying art of “paper hugs,” as my friend, Jaci, calls personal mail.  And we can help save the Postal Service and the hundreds of thousands of good jobs it provides our country, and a service that is priceless.

So, add your name to the spreadsheet.  If you’re on it, update it & put a number in the column for letters you plan to send this week.  Not because you have to in order to send mail, of course, but so you can help build excitement for the project as the list grows, and so we can all see how widespread it becomes and how we are all making a difference.

In closing, I wanted to share the highly inappropriate (which, IMO, makes it that much funnier) Halloween card I just sent my in-law’s this week.  (Don’t worry, they have a great sense of humor and they loved it!)  I got it at Dollar Tree, a great resource for inexpensive greeting cards, for $.50. I have more resources & ideas for cards & postcards listed here.  If you pick up a funny card that made you snort, scan it and email it to me (vraklis@yahoo.com)–I’ll be featuring my favorite next Saturday when I announce the next winner of cookies.

*For next week’s drawing, please make sure you put a number on the spreadsheet indicating how many letters you plan to send, and return by Friday night to mark how many you did send.  Only those who mark theirs as finished will be entered into the drawing. Thank you, thank you, thank you!