You know how sometimes you read or hear something and you say to yourself, “Hey, I can do that!”

That’s just what happened when Kathy Wittlock read about, ‘Operation Write Home.’

Wittlock, owner of Scrapin’ Kats, a specialty scrapbooking store here in Cullman, mentioned to a few of her customers and some of her friends that making cards for service men and women would be a worthwhile cause and that they could use scrap papers and stickers from their own collections to make them.

“I found Operation Write Home through scrapbooking and card making. I decided I would make a few and the next thing I knew, I had several customers and friends coming in to help,” recalled Wittlock.

“We even had a group of ladies from Logan Methodist Church to come and    spend some time making cards – the Logan group plans to come back again real soon.” The group also welcomes other church groups, Girl or Boy Scout Troops, or just anyone who would like to participate in this meaningful effort.

The cards are beautiful. They are made of bits and pieces of paper and glue, and they become works of art. There are spooky bats for Halloween, wonderful 3-D flowers for Mother’s Day, and Christmas trees, loaded with ornaments. They contain no messages because the purpose of these cards is that they are send to the troops in order that they may use them to write to their friends and family back here in the States.

“There are a couple of rules that the organization is really strict about,” emphasized Whittlock. “First, NO GLITTER. It’s a hazard to our troops, so we won’t send cards with any kind of glitter on them because it could flake off the cards onto their uniforms or weapons.”

“Second, all the cards must be A2 sized cards. This size is most efficient for the shipping container costs. The actual size is 4.25 x 5.5, which is half a sheet of cardstock. They don’t necessarily have to have an envelope, if someone makes a card, we’ll find them an envelope,” she emphasized.

“Rule number three is that there are absolutely no store-bought cards,” said Wittlock. “All the cards we make are uniquely handcrafted from our scraps and loose odds and ends that accumulate when you are a scrapbooker.”

The group mailed their first shipment of handcrafted cards in time for Valentine’s Day of 2009. Since then they have mailed another shipment of 262 cards in time for the Fourth of July, 2010, for a total of about 600 cards.

“Our next shipment is the day after Labor Day. Our goal for that batch is 500 cards,” explained Wittlock.

The ladies here bundle the cards together and mail them to one of four shipment centers here in the states. “I always include a little something for the ladies who are mailing them overseas. Sometimes I just send them extra stamps, maybe a tee-shirt, or just ten dollars, because they are doing something so important, and no one is getting paid for any of this,” she said.

“They even have a card hospital,” she laughed. “There are people there whose only job is to find lost parts and repair cards.”

“We make cards for any occasion that a member of the military might need to send someone here at home. They cover all occasions; birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, Easter, sympathy, congratulations, or just a friendly, ‘Hello’ from Iraq or Afghanistan, or wherever they may be stationed,” she said. “Normally, there aren’t any Hallmark stores out there in the desert.”

“We make a lot of children’s cards. I know my grandchildren love to get mail, and I know there are a lot of parents over there whose children love getting mail from them.”

The current total of cards that Operation Write Home has sent to the troops is 486,198, as of July 26, 2010. The cards are sent from the mailing stations here in the U.S. and are usually given out to the soldiers by the company chaplains.

“Sometimes we do send notes and cards for another phase of this operation, called, ‘Any Hero,’ cards,” said Wittlock. “These are notes for the people serving our county who may need a little cheering up, or just a simple, ‘thank you.”

The Any Hero cards can include a note about the sender. It can describe their own town or talk about sports, and can include notes from children - just anything to cheer someone up, or show appreciation for what they are doing.”

 “I like to think that maybe a note I send may help someone’s day go a little better,” explained Wittlock. “I think we have all but forgotten the art of letter writing.”

Whittlock has a daughter and a son-in-law who were both in the Air Force, and several nieces and nephews currently in the military. “Sometimes I think people don’t realize just how many families have a troop member who is stationed a long way from home.”

It takes about six weeks for the cards to reach their destination. The group mails a box each month during the holidays.  

Operation Write Home’s mission statement is, “ Supporting our nation’s armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them.”

You can find Operation Write Home on Facebook, where you can get weekly updates.

The next card-making party at Scrapin’ Kats for Operation Write Home will be on August 7th. For more information, you can call 256-737-0900, or drop by to see the cards in progress, at 1628 2nd Ave. S.W. Cullman, Alabama.

You can learn more about the organization by visiting operationwritehome.org