Vietnam veteran Bruce Hooper of Weatherly knows all too well how precious a card from home is when serving in the military.

“There’s nothing like this,” he said, taking a break from signing cards for the Cards for Soldiers marathon event at the American Legion in Weatherly on Tuesday. “It’s such a good feeling.”

Hooper remembers how important getting cards and letters were to him, and being anxious to share news from home with those serving with him.

Now, he is sending the cards for other soldiers, hoping to give some joy and words of thanks to those far away from their families.

Judy Desrosiers of American Legion Auxiliary 360 in Weatherly organized the day-long event, which brought Air Force veteran and Cards for Soldiers founder Charly Mathews from Graying, Michigan.

Mathews came with Kim Champion, Department of Michigan American Legion Auxiliary President, who has been supporting her work, which has grown exponentially in a few short years.

Mathews began making care packages for soldiers in her husband’s unit stationed abroad, where they had access to nothing. The packages transitioned into greeting cards, which aren’t available for military personnel to send their love and wishes back home.

“It just snowballed,” she said, who was visiting with her service dog, Miss Lilly. “I would do three, four large flat boxes in a quarter, and now, I’m doing more like 100 to 200 a month.”

Desrosiers had been card stamping as a hobby for years and came across Mathew’s Cards for Soldiers when looking for an outlet for her handcrafted cards.

A little more than a year ago, Desrosiers enlisted the members of Legion auxiliary to help make cards for the project, which provides cards to soldiers deployed around the world as well those in Veterans Affairs hospitals.

“There are no Walmarts, Dollar Stores or Hallmark stores on these bases or in the field for a soldier to go buy a card,” she had said.

The auxiliary members make upward of 100 cards every other month, even though donations of commercial greeting cards are accepted, and their efforts caught the attention of Mathews, who wanted to visit.

On Tuesday, the auxiliary hosted Legion auxiliary members and other volunteers from throughout the region. They set up stations at different tables, where people could make cards or sign cards.

They also included a card from Mathews reading: “Thank you for your sacrifice and service to our country! We hope that you will use these cards in the card packets that we have provided you, to put a smile on someone’s face in your family. Feel free to share the cards and if you need more, let us know and we’ll gladly ship you more.”

Carbon County Commissioner Rocky Ahner was among the volunteers on Tuesday morning.

He said he came out to support the auxiliary’s effort, as veterans and military personnel deserve recognition and support for what they did and continue to do for the country.

Ahner’s uncle never returned home from World War II, and so many people don’t realize how many service personnel are stationed around the world right now, grateful for kind words from home.

“They’re protecting us and you don’t even know it,” Ahner said.

Another volunteer and Legion auxiliary member, Cathy Olker, auxiliary president, Canadensis, sat at a table signing cards with Georgann Herling, auxiliary district president for Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe and Northampton counties.

Olker said she hopes to bring the project back to her auxiliary, which has been crocheting mats for the homeless for years, she said. She would like to have Desrosiers as a guest, she said.

Olker hand wrote personal messages for the soldiers receiving the packs of cards, thanking them for their service and letting each know that she thinking about them and praying for them.

That’s all the Legion auxiliary members asked of their volunteers – a little time and some kind words for those who are serving. The auxiliary provided all of the supplies as well as food and refreshments during the marathon event.

Volunteers signed and made a total of 1,530 cards – 1,352 signed with messages, and 178 handmade cards to send back home, Desrosiers said.

More information on Cards for Soldiers can be found Mathew’s Cards for Soldiers Facebook page.