Operation Gratitude – One Millionth Care Package Celebration Pictures

Operation Gratitude celebrated their historic One Millionth Care Package on Saturday, December 7, and The Gallery Collection is very proud to have played a part. In total, 7,500 cards were donated for the celebration which you can view here.

The Gallery Collection donated 5,000 collectible greeting cards to be given to the volunteers and everyone that helped make the one millionth care package a reality. These cards were then given a commemorative stamp and cancellation. Check out the below gallery to see the attendees getting their cards stamped.

We also donated 2,500 specially designed greeting cards to be signed and sent to the troops as a Thank You for their service. The below gallery includes some photographs of attendees writing their personalized thank you’s that went out to the troops.

It was such an honor and a privilege for us to be a part of this historic event.  We again want to thank everyone at Operation Gratitude for the amazing service they provide and congratulate them on this amazing accomplishment!

 

 

Why You Should Be Sending Out Personalized Christmas Cards

Each year as Christmas approaches and I get ready to address the personalized Christmas cards I want to send, it brings back delightful memories of sitting together at the table with my mother, who has since deceased, as she prepared to send her cards to family and friends. Mom would reminisce about the events of the year that reminded her of special times she shared with friends and family that were meaningful and fun. After telling me all the wonderful stories and seeing me giggle, (I was about eight at the time), she would begin writing her cards in which she would include a personal message, relating to those fun times, specifically to each person she was addressing. It was a very special time for me to share in Mom’s past together with her, and I remember how pleased and delighted everyone was after reading their personalized greeting cards and called her to continue talking about those fun times.

Love, Peace, Joy Wreath Holiday Card

Now, many, many years later, I find myself following in Mom’s footsteps. I, too, prepare myself for a trip down Memory Lane when getting ready to personalize my Christmas cards. Like Mom, I also get calls thanking me for the cards and it gives us a chance to chat about those wonderful times.

Gallery Collection Charitable Donations – Project Linus

The Gallery Collection is pleased to announce a donation of 400 holiday cards and 400 birthday cards to Project Linus. Project Linus donates handmade security blankets to children in trauma, including children in hospitals, shelters, foster kids, children of military soldiers who are either deployed or fallen, or any other situation you can imagine.

Project Linus

By the end of 2013 Project Linus will have donated over 5 million blankets to children in need. Project Linus accepts handmade blankets of any style or size. Of course, financial donations are always needed. Most of chapters also accept donations of materials to make blankets.

They intend to use their cards by sending them to their very hardworking volunteer coordinators for Christmas. Project Linus has not been able to do this for a very long time. Also, they send birthday cards to each volunteer on their birthdays.

If you are interested in learning more about Project Linus, and other ways that you can help, you can visit their website at: http://www.projectlinus.org/

Our Go To Christmas Gifts For Coworkers

During the Holidays, I always get stressed out with buying Christmas gifts for my loved ones. And I happen to know my friends and family very well! It adds a degree of difficulty when you are buying Christmas gifts for coworkers. Especially if you are doing a Secret Santa and you get someone you don’t know!

Office Christmas Gifts

Whether you know the person well or not, you can still give them a great gift that everyone will love and appreciate. Some of our go to Christmas gifts for coworkers are listed below!

Scarves – Scarves are a great gift for both men & women. Getting a coworker a nice scarf for the winter season is perfect especially if you live in a very cold area.

Flameless Candles – Flameless Candles are the new popular household gift to give during the holiday season. Unlike regular candles, flameless candles are much safer and kid friendly for those coworkers who have young children. They also have many great scents to choose from!

Restaurant Gift Card – Who doesn’t like to go out to eat every once in a while?! Getting your coworker a restaurant gift card to a popular local chain is a wonderful gift to give around the holidays. It’s always nice to get out of the house during the winter and enjoy a nice family meal together, without having to cook yourself!

Home Made Cookies – My personal favorite gift to give a coworker around the holiday is home-made cookies! Nothing is better than receiving chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookies to bring home. It really shows your fellow co-worker that you took the time out to make something from the heart!

Bottle of Wine – For those who enjoy relaxing with a nice glass of wine after work or the weekends, what better gift to give then a bottle of their favorite wine! If you don’t know their favorite, perhaps you can get them your favorite to try!

Gift giving around the office is such a fun way to celebrate the holidays in the office with your fellow coworkers and employees. It’s also a great way to learn more about each other and rejoice during the holiday season.

Gallery Collection Charitable Donations – Cards for Hospitalized Kids

The Gallery Collection is pleased to announce a donation of 400 Thank You cards and 400 Holiday cards to Cards for Hospitalized Kids. Cards for Hospitalized Kids (CFHK) is an internationally recognized charitable organization that spreads hope and joy through uplifting, handmade cards sent to kids that are hospitalized and/or seriously ill.

Holiday Cards

Individuals and groups donate time and creativity to make handmade cards and send them to CFHK for distribution in hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses across the nation. Over 40,000 kids in hospitals in all 50 states have received cards from CFHK.

Cards for Hospitalized Kids will be using the greeting cards donated by The Gallery Collection as thanks and holiday greetings to all of their supporters for helping with such a wonderful cause.

For more information about Cards for Hospitalized Kids, and how you can help, please visit their website at http://www.cardsforhospitalizedkids.com/.

Christmas Party Ideas For Your Office – Card Writing and Envelope Stuffing

I had the best time last year while getting our Christmas cards ready for mailing. We decided to do them all together! It ended up being the most fun office Christmas party ever! We prepared the office conference room with enough chairs so that all 14 of us could sit. We had pens enough for everyone to sign their names and pass them to the next person to the right, one at a time we all signed in just about the same areas so there was enough room for everyone. When that task was complete we then divided up the mailing list of 375 clients, so that everyone had a similar number of cards to address, it turned out to be a page each of about 25 names.

Office Christmas Party

Once that was all done, which is the serious part when we didn’t want any mistakes occurring, we then moved onto the stuffing and licking. After just a few envelopes, your tongue gets dry and sticky, so you need to wet your whistle! The owners are a really great couple and they made sure we all had a red solo cup with fruit filled sangria. Then began the sipping and laughing! By the time we were done with all that work we were enjoying each other’s company, discussing everything and anything except work. Once the work was complete the snacks came out, not to mention the owners had ordered a few pizza’s for all of us. It only took about an hour for the whole process. This was a Christmas party idea we will definitely do again, I suggest you try it!

Operation Gratitude Q&A – One Millionth Care Package Event

The Gallery Collection recently made a 7,500 greeting card donation to Operation Gratitude for their 1 Millionth Care Package Celebration. Carolyn Blashek, the Founder and CEO of Operation Gratitude, was kind enough to provide us with some information about both Operation Gratitude and the upcoming One Millionth Care-Package Event. Read on below to learn more about what the organization does, and how it benefits the members of the military community.

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  1. What is Operation Gratitude?
    • Operation Gratitude is a volunteer-based organization that annually sends 100,000+ care packages & letters of support to individual Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen & Marines deployed in harm’s way & on ships at sea, to their children left behind, and to Wounded Warriors, Care Givers, Veterans, Military Families and First Responders.
  2. How did Operation Gratitude get started?
    • In March 2003, Founder Carolyn Blashek met with a soldier who broke down at her desk after letting her know that he was going back on deployment and due to some of the personal issues he was experiencing at the time, he did not care if he made it back. It was then that Carolyn realized that troops need to believe that someone at home cares about them as an individual and Operation Gratitude was officially born.
  3. What is the Operation Gratitude One Millionth Care Package Event?
    • On December 7th, 2013, Operation Gratitude will assemble and celebrate their One Millionth Care Package, which is something that no other organization has accomplished.
  4. When is the Operation Gratitude One Millionth Care package Event?
    • December 7th, 2013
  5. How will the cards The Gallery Collection donated be used during the One Millionth Care Package Event?
    • The 5,000 Thank you for Attending Cards will be distributed to everyone who attends the event as a token of appreciation for their attendance and help. There will also be another 2,500 Thank you for Your Service cards that will be used by attendees for signing and writing notes that will then be placed in the care packages that will be sent out. Get a closer look at the two sets of cards The Gallery Collection donated here.
  6. What are some of the things that will be happening during the One Millionth Care Package Event?
    • Assembly of the “One Millionth” & “One Millionth & One” Packages
    • Santa Claus Photo Ops and Giveaways
    • Entertainment and Celebrity Surprises
    • Games & Activities for Kids; Raffle and Door Prizes
  7. What kind of donations does Operation Gratitude Accept?
    • Operation Gratitude accepts all kinds of items including things like DVDs, CDs, gift cards, toothpaste, deodorant and much much more. A complete list of wish items can be found at the below link:
  8. How many items are included in each care package?
    • Each care package contains 50 or more donated snack, entertainment and personal care items.
  9. Where does the assembly of the actual care packages take place?
    • Operation Gratitude conducts its Assembly Drives in the National Guard Armory in Van Nuys, California where more than 15,000 local volunteers participate on-site and 250,000 volunteer hours are served per year.
  10. Where can people go to find out more information about Operation Gratitude?
    • More information about Operation Gratitude can be found below:
    • Information about the Millionth Care-Package event can be found below:

 

 

Ten Simple Steps To Get A Good Workout At Work

Many of us would love to be able to get more exercise, but the problem most people face is having time to workout. With our busy lives, some of us barely have enough time for work, family and home obligations, and sleep, so getting in a workout on top of all that would be quite a challenge.

So what to do when you don’t have time to workout? Since we spend so much time at work, it makes sense to try to squeeze in small bits of exercise throughout the day at work. The recommended amount of physical activity for health benefits varies depending on individual needs and goals, but 30 minutes of moderate activity is a good place to start. Note that this does not mean the 30 minutes has to be done all at once; it can be broken into smaller amounts of time that add up to 30 minutes total. Looking at it that way, it is easy to see how you can squeeze in some exercise at work in order to total 30 minutes per day. Here are ten simple steps to get a good workout at work.

Workout at Work

  1. If you drive to work, park as far away as possible from your building, so that you get a good walk in. Wear a pedometer and try to get 10,0000 steps in per day.
  2. Take the stairs whenever possible inside the building.
  3. Put in face time with your coworkers. Instead of emailing, get up and walk over to see your coworker. You can also suggest taking walks during meetings instead of gathering to sit in a conference room (if there is no presentation or anything that needs to be seen). When you are on the telephone at your desk, stand up instead of sitting down.
  4. Trade your desk chair for an exercise ball. This will force you to work your core to balance. Or have your desk replaced by a high desk, so that you have to stand at it. This will greatly reduce the amount of sitting you do per day.
  5. If you have an office, you can close the door for privacy during breaks or at lunch and do a number of no-impact exercises. You can do squats, lunges, pushups, crunches, etc. You can even keep hand weights at your desk (or use waterbottles) to get in some light resistance training.
  6. Join a local gym and workout at lunch. Many gyms offer 30 minute “express” classes that cater to working professionals on their lunch break. Or you can walk on the treadmill or use one of the other cardio machines for 30 minutes. This will leave plenty of time to shower and grab a quick healthy lunch.
  7. Like to be social during lunch? Start a lunchtime walking or jogging club. Forget the water cooler and catch up on the latest office gossip or entertainment news while getting in shape with your coworkers.
  8. Set a timer on your computer or cell phone to go off every hour to remind you to stand up, step away from your desk, and either walk a lap around the floor or go up and down a flight or two of stairs. Every little bit of activity counts!
  9. Want to encourage your co-workers to fit in exercise too? Start a sports league at work. You can practice or play games during lunch or after work at a nearby location or local school.
  10. Whether or not you have an office, you can still do some exercises at your cubicle. Isometric exercises are performed without weights and require you to tense your muscles for a time and then relax them. Since the moves are performed without actually moving any part of your body, no one will actually even know you are exercising!

The Gallery Collection Donates 7,500 Cards to the Operation Gratitude 1 Millionth Care Package Celebration

The Gallery Collection has a long history of working with Operation Gratitude. So we were thrilled to donate 7,500 cards to the Operation Gratitude 1 Millionth Care Package Celebration occurring on December 7th, 2013. We’ve created 5,000 specially designed cards to thank everyone attending the celebration for their support of Operation Gratitude over the years.

 

Thank You for Attending Card

thanks for attending

 

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We’ve also created 2,500 specially designed cards to be signed and sent in even more care packages to service men and women stationed overseas.

 

Thank You for Your Service Card

thanks for service

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Operation Gratitude seeks to lift morale in the military community by sending care packages addressed to individual Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines deployed overseas, to their children left behind, and to Veterans, First Responders, Wounded Warriors and their care givers. Operation Gratitude care packages contain food, hygiene products, entertainment and handmade items, plus personal letters of appreciation, all wrapped with good wishes of love and support.

The 1 Millionth Care Package Celebration is the culmination of a decade of hard work and dedication. To send so many card packages was no small feat, and this feat could not have been accomplished without the donations and volunteer efforts of so many people. This celebration marks not only the shipment of the 1 millionth care package; it is a celebration of everyone who made this moment possible.

If you’d like more information on the Operation Gratitude 1 Millionth Care Package Event, or if you’d like to help out in some way, please go to the Operation Gratitude website: http://opgrat.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/save-the-date-one-million-care-packages-and-counting/.