Holiday Mail for Heroes will be set up at Longwood Gardens

Visitors to Longwood Gardens on Monday night will be able to sign cards for the military, courtesy of the American Red Cross.

For the seventh year in a row, the American Red Cross is sponsoring holiday mail for the nation’s military, and its regional chapter is making it easy for area residents to participate.

On Monday, Dec. 2, from 6 to 8 p.m. Red Cross representatives will set up a free card-signing operation in the visitors’ center lobby of Longwood Gardens, where an elaborate Christmas lights display typically attracts large crowds.

Holiday Mail for Heroes is a national American Red Cross program that is being hosted locally for the second time in a row at Longwood Gardens by the Chester County Leadership Council of the American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania. The initiative provides an opportunity for the public to express support to the nation’s military.

The American Red Cross does all the legwork to get the cards to U.S. servicemen and women. A ticket to Longwood Gardens, located at 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square,

is not required to sign cards, which will be provided by the Red Cross.

Founded in 1916 as a chartered unit of the American National Red Cross, the Southeastern Pennsylvania (SEPA) Chapter of the American Red Cross is part of the largest and most diverse service organization in the United States, serving nearly four million people in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties.

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org and redcrossphilly.org.