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ABOUT “HEROES IN OUR MIDST”
Heroes In Our Midst, a national recognition program of the Greeting Card Association, was launched in early 2006 and honored its final hero in February of 2008. The program recognized individuals in their communities who gave of themselves to make a positive impact in the lives of others, and reinforced the importance of connecting with others through card sending.
For two years, program officials traveled the country to spotlight Heroes In Our Midst, honoring them with a hometown award ceremony and inviting their communities to express their appreciation for these individuals by sending them a card or note. Local residents were encouraged to continue “the chain of connecting” by sending a card or note to the everyday heroes in their own lives.
More than 30 community “heroes” from 29 states were honored at local sporting events, pep rallies, community gatherings and civic ceremonies, generating an outpouring of support for these individuals and the positive power of personal connections.
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Heroes In Our Midst Partners
Heroes In Our Midst is sponsored by the Greeting
Card Association (GCA), whose membership consists of nearly 300 U.S.
and international greeting card publishers and suppliers. Founded
in 1941, the GCA is dedicated to celebrating, promoting and preserving
the tradition and cultural values of exchanging greeting cards.
GCA’s first-year partner in the Heroes In Our Midst
program is Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS), the nation’s oldest and
largest youth mentoring organization. Founded in 1904, BBBS has
an extensive network of agencies in 5,000 U.S. communities, serving
240,000 children and youth. BBBS has been the leader in
one-to-one youth service for more than a century, with proven success
in creating positive friendships that benefit children, volunteers,
families, neighborhoods and the community.
In turn, BBBS saw an opportunity through the Heroes
In Our Midst program to promote and recognize mentoring and encourage
others to join in supporting the effort. Independent research shows
that that reaching out to others through BBBS’ one-to-one mentoring
solution creates measurable change in the lives of young people.
Children with a Big Brother or Big Sister are less likely to use drugs
and alcohol, develop better peer relationships and have stronger
self-esteem. Creating lasting bonds has an enormous ability to
change lives for the better. The Heroes In Our Midst initiative is a
logical outgrowth of the respective commitments and philosophies of the
Greeting Card Association and Big Brothers Big Sisters in fostering
human interaction and caring.
Program Specifics
The Heroes In Our Midst program will kick off in
January 2006, National Mentoring Month and just prior to “Thank Your
Mentor Day” on January 25, 2006. Each month, BBBS, Heroes In Our
Midst’s primary partner for the first year, will select a mentoring
hero from the 240,000 mentors who help make it the most effective youth
mentoring program in the nation. To honor the selected mentor hero and
to encourage others to make one-to-one connections in their
communities, the GCA will donate $1,000 in the hero’s name to the local
BBBS chapter with which the mentor is affiliated. The mentoring hero
will be announced at the beginning of each month.
Once the public is made aware of each month’s hero,
they will be encouraged to send greeting cards or written notes
acknowledging the individual’s contributions and showing their
appreciation for a job well done. The Heroes In Our Midst program
will present each awardee with a Heroes In Our Midst medallion.
An event honoring the mentor will also take place in the city where the
everyday hero resides.
To read more about BBBS and GCA, click here.
About the Greeting Card Association
The Greeting Card Association, headquartered in Washington, DC,
represents nearly 300 U.S. and international greeting card publishers
and suppliers. It is dedicated to celebrating, promoting and
preserving the tradition and cultural values of exchanging greeting
cards.
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