Personal Letters of Appreciation

Operation Gratitude sends 250,000+ Care Packages each year to Deployed Troops, Veterans, New Recruits & First Responders. Of all the items included in these Care Packages, the most cherished are the personal letters of appreciation!  

Operation Gratitude's goal is to include several letters and colorful drawings in every Care Package and tell our heroes “WE CARE!” Writing a letter is a meaningful way for Americans to show support for all who serve. It only takes five minutes of your day but will bring lasting joy to the recipients.  Once you register for this event, you will get an email with a variety of PDF templates that you can download and print for your letter stationary.

Note: You may register for only the letter-writing portion of this project by purchasing the free "Letter-Writing" ticket.

Paracord Bracelets

All who serve use paracord, which gets its name from parachute cord and can hold up to 550 lbs. of weight. The bracelet provides 7.5 feet of cord in an emergency. Paracord “Survival” Bracelets can be used to secure camouflage nets to trees or vehicles, build a makeshift shelter, extend a security strap or rope to reach and haul heavy objects, create a harness to extract an injured person from a bad location and to make a sling or splint. And those are just a few of the ways to use the full paracord! 

For our service project, we will be making the “quick release” (or “quick deploy”) paracord style. The older cobra design can take 2-5 minutes to take apart, and in an emergency, that’s a LOT of time. The quick deploy bracelet is just that—quick! The bracelet can be deployed in just 30 seconds. 

Operation Gratitudes strives to include one Paracord “Survival” Bracelet in each of our Deployed Troop Care Packages, and in the First Responder and Recruit Graduate Care Pouches.  

Important Dates

Saturday, May 15, 2021 — Last day to register for the event

Tuesday, June 1, 2021 — Pick up day for those making paracord bracelets

Thursday, July 15, 2021 — Last day to return letters to KindCraft (We will mail all the letters and bracelets together to Operation Gratitude.)

After you register for the event you will receive a confirmation email including the following:

• Letter Writing Tips
• Coloring Page Letter
• Templates for Pre-K/K, Elementary, Middle, and High School
• Paracord Information/Fun Facts Download
• Paracord Bracelet Printable Instructions Download
• Paracord Bracelet Video Instructions (right-handed and left-handed)
• Paracord JIG Pattern Download

Pick Up/Drop Off Information

You will choose to pick up paracord supplies and drop off letters and completed bracelets at either one of the following contactless porch pick-up locations on or after June 1st: 16072 S. Elmridge St Olathe, KS  or 10725 W. 128th Pl Overland Park, KS