NEWS

Business owner collects valentines for troops

Karen Madden
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

WISCONSIN RAPIDS — With Valentine’s Day still more than a week off, Justin Herman’s desk is covered with more than 100 cards.

The cards aren’t for Herman. Instead, they were dropped off for Operation Valentine, a program Herman, the owner of Herman-Taylor Funeral Home, began participating in three years ago. He asks schools, members of the Girl Scouts, nursing homes and anyone else who wants to participate to create valentines to send to the troops serving overseas.

When someone is serving away from home, it’s nice to get a letter or package from home, said Bryan Peterson, a Wisconsin Rapids resident who served in the Army during the Vietnam War. But, some servicemen and servicewomen don’t have a lot of family, Peterson said.

“It’s nice to think someone is willing to step up and make sure everyone gets a letter,” Peterson said. “It’s nice that someone would take the time to write a Valentine’s Day card to someone they don’t know just because that person is in the service.”

The program is growing each year, Herman said. He thought about not doing it this year, but one day last week, people began showing up with colorful handmade cards.

“Happy Valentine’s Day! Thank you for your service,” is the message on one card created by a Girl Scout who decorated her card with squirrels.

“Who wouldn’t smile getting that?” Herman asked.

The project is simple and meaningful, Herman said.

“Students and individuals throughout the community write messages to the troops on valentine cards, cut-out hearts or whatever they like, and we make sure that they are delivered to our brave men and women serving overseas,” Herman said.

The cards cannot include glitter, food or candy, Herman said.

Although food isn’t allowed as part of the program, in 2014, Herman took extra steps when a Girl Scout troop brought boxes of cookies to send. He packaged them, filled out the paperwork needed to mail food to the troops and then arranged with a local military family group to send the cookies and valentines to Germany, where several soldiers from central Wisconsin were serving.

Herman likes the idea of a serviceman or servicewoman a long way from home getting a Valentine’s Day message from a student at a school the service member knows. There are a lot of programs people can find on the Internet that let them send cards and things to people serving in the military, but most of those don’t try to find troops from the sender’s communities, Herman said.

The deadline for getting cards turned in is Saturday, Herman said.

You can contact reporter Karen Madden at 715-423-7200, ext. 6729, or follow her on Twitter @wrtkmadden.

How to help

People who want to help with Operation Valentine can drop cards for the troops off from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. now through Saturday at Herman-Taylor Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 2201 Chestnut St., Wisconsin Rapids.