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Lion Don Montlack, PDG What's New? Lots of things, but not this job! It's vital job, a job that must be done. It's a job for PEOPLE, for men and women, thousands of them, to whom you and I owe a debt that can never be repaid. Who are they? They're the men and woman in more than 130 VA (Veterans Affairs) hospitals and convalescent centers all over the country. How did they get there? In the course of protecting OUR security, in World War II, in the police action in Korea, Viet Nam, Middle East, and in trouble spots all over the world. What is the Job? Doing whatever we can to stamp C A N C E L L E D across the face of the deadliest foe the hospitalized serviceman must fight - ENFORCED IDLENESS and its deadly allies: boredom, loneliness, frustration, futility, despair. Doing whatever we can to relight the spark of interest and life in the weary eyes of a wounded or convalescent veteran...eyes that without such help would stare at nothing but what one GI called "white ceilings...and dark futures." This is the job. How can we do it? That's right...Ordinary Postage Stamps, the kind that are tossed unheeded into the trash every day! What can stamps do? Miracles, almost. Stamps can give bedridden patient, a long-treatment patient, a convalescent patient, a consuming interest. He/she can sort and mount stamps without effort as he/she lies in bed. If he/she is ambulatory, or even in a wheelchair, he/she can pass happy hours soaking stamps and mounting them in his/her own album, or in albums for beginners in his/her own and other hospitals. Even the far withdrawn, mentally disabled patient takes pleasure in using the commoner stamps to make fanciful greeting cards, or cover decorative boxes in organized therapy sessions. Who gets the stamps there? SFTW, now a service of the Lions International Stamp Club. SFTW is 100% volunteer organization. Founded early in 1942 in response to an appeal from the Armed Services Hospitals, it was extended to nationwide scope in 1944 with the aid of the country's leading stamp societies. Its members are philatelists who voluntarily collect for and distribute to hospitalized servicemen and servicewoman the tools they need to engage in this vital therapy. None of them has ever been paid a single penny for his/her services. Is SFTW affiliated with the government? Not officially. However, both the American Red Cross and the Department of Veterans' Affairs recognizes STAMPS FOR THE WOUNDED as an agency accredited to serve the philatelic needs of hospitalized servicemen and women. Are contributions to SFTW tax-exempt? Yes, indeed they are! (See the Internal Revenue Code, 1943, Section 501 (c), 3.) Donations of cash, stamps or covers are deductible at fair market value for firms or individuals. While SFTW has never publicly asked for cash donations, stamps are only the raw material of our work. A collector needs albums, hinges, magnifiers, catalogues, accessories. SFTW uses cash donations to buy such items in job-lots or remnant stocks for free distribution to hospitalized service men and woman. What stamps does SFTW want? All philatelic material - stamps and covers - US and foreign, in any quantity. Envelopes from daily mail and those with special postmarks, first-day covers, first airmail flights, and so on can be used. What stamps doesn't SFTW want? Badly torn, damaged or defective stamps. Where can I find stamps for SFTW? Your own mail. Friends. Business firms with overseas correspondence. Attics, trunks, closets, where there are, at a guess, more than million discarded or forgotten stamp collections that could be a Godsend to SFTW. Look. Ask. Investigate. NOW you've decided to help...may we venture a few suggestions for packing and mailing your precious gifts? 1) Be SURE to leave at least a quarter-inch margin of paper around the stamps you tear off the envelopes or packages. Please DON'T try to peel or steam stamps off! Stamps must be soaked in lukewarm water till they float off the paper by themselves....and the soaking process is much of the fun for the hospitalized collector! 2) If you possibly can find time, separate the stamps into 3 groups: Cancelled US, Uncancelled US, and Foreign stamps. You can ship them all together, of course, but this preliminary sorting will be a great help to us. Also, place a total number count on the outside of the package. 3) Pack your stamps well. Don't use something that will break open in transit. The stamps will be lost and a mess to clean up. 4) Please print your Club and Total amount on the outside of the box, so we will know who it's from! We do our best to acknowledge every shipment, but some donors inadvertently make it impossible for us to say "Thank you!"
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Last updated: 01/29/2008 20:10 |
