By Judy McSpadden

Some of the recipients of Our Military Kids grants are adding their special kind of cheer to mailboxes around the country this Christmas. The cards are on sale at www.goodcausegreetings.com\omk.asp.

Jacob B, whose dad deployed with the Naval Reserve to the Horn of Africa, used his OMK grant to attend a STEM camp. Jacob, age 11, has designed an OMK Christmas card featuring a well-spangled Christmas tree standing at the center of – what else would you expect from a patriot – an American flag.

Matthew E, son of an Army National Guardsmen, received an Our Military Kids grant for his Boy Scout Camp. His artwork features a host of holiday favorites: a snowman, a tree, a Hanukkah menorah, and, of course…an American flag.

The cards are for sale thanks to a partnership between Our Military Kids, Inc. and Good Cause Greetings, a Massachusetts card maker whose family interest in holiday greetings goes back five generations.

“Every card we sell supports a charity,” said Cathy Robbins, president of Good Cause Greetings. Our Military Kids will receive 20 percent of the proceeds.

The card maker supports only those charities which spend the majority of their budgets on their missions. Robbins said the organizations they support have wide-ranging missions, but they are all well-respected and given the seal of approval by BBB Wise Giving Alliance.

“We like printing cards about things people care about,” said Robbins, who listed food banks, hospitals and animal shelters. She also mentioned more obscure causes, like diseases not familiar to the general populace.

The designs of the holiday cards vary as well. “Of course, living in New England, I’m partial to snow scenes,” Robbins said. Either Good Cause or the customer can provide artwork.

“Print technology makes it easier to customize,” Robbins said. She said the customers purchasing the Our Military Kids cards can choose their own logos, signatures, verses, even fonts. Shipping from Massachusetts generally takes 2-3 days unless the cards are customized, in which case shipping could be four days, depending on where the customer lives.

Evolving technology has also changed the way people exchange greeting cards. There is evidence that ancient people in China and Egypt shared greetings on papyrus. Europeans, in the 15^th century, shared greetings on paper. Then, in 1843, the first known Christmas card was published in London.

While, today, an increasing number of people send E-cards at Christmas, over 2 billion Christmas cards were mailed in the United States last year. Even though electronic communication is inexpensive and on the rise, “it is not charming,” blogs Dallas Morning News writer, David Flick.

Flick likes the traditional Christmas card custom, suggesting, “the minute or so it takes to sign and address a card is time spent thinking of someone else.”

Customers who order Our Military Kids cards can not only enjoy a beloved custom going back centuries, but they can know, for $14.20 per box, they are supporting military children of deployed or wounded military service men and women.

To order, go to the interactive site: www.goodcausegreetings.com\omk.asp