Senator Ritchie is pictured with Lisbon Central School second grade students and their teacher Jane Brown-Flack in the attached photo, Holiday Mail for Heroes

LISBON -- Lisbon Central School students recently created handmade holiday cards for U.S. soldiers as part of the American Red Cross' Holiday Mail for Heroes program.

Sen. Patty Ritchie visited Lisbon Central School Wednesday to collect handmade holiday cards from students in Jane Brown-Flack’s second grade.

Ritchie is partnering with Ogdensburg native and radio personality Melody Burns to urge the public to support ‘Holiday Mail for Heroes,’ which helps to deliver tens of thousands of holiday greetings every year to service members at military installations, veterans hospitals and other locations.

So far, nearly 1,000 holiday greetings have been donated from as far away as Missouri, as well as schools and veterans posts in Oswego, Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties.

“I was so overwhelmed by the generosity of these second grade students,” said Senator Ritchie. “Through this program, students are learning—at a very young age—not only the importance of remembering others during the holiday season, but also how necessary it is to honor the people who sacrifice so much to protect our freedom.”

“I’m thankful for these students, and the many other people who have sent cards to my offices that will be forwarded to our troops this holiday season."

Cards for the ‘Holiday Mail for Heroes’ program may be dropped off at Ogdensburg City Hall Basement, 330 Ford St., Ogdensburg.

To participate in the program:

- All cards must be signed.

- Use generic salutations such as “Dear Service Member.” Cards addressed to specific individuals cannot be delivered through this program.

- Only cards are being accepted. Do not include envelopes. Do not send letters.

- Do not include email or home addresses on the cards: the program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships.

- Do not include inserts of any kind, including photos: these items will be removed during the reviewing process.

-Please refrain from choosing cards with glitter or using loose glitter as it can aggravate health issues of ill and injured warriors.

- If you are mailing a large quantity of cards, please bundle them and place them in large mailing envelopes or flat rate postal shipping boxes. Each card does not need its own envelope, as envelopes will be removed from all cards before distribution.