Xerox Allies With Georgia National Guard For Holiday Card Drive

Duo rallies Atlanta to print, sign and send cards to more than 4,000 troops overseas.

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Nov. 18, 2005 -- Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) is working with the Georgia Army National Guard’s Family Readiness Group, a military-operated support group for the families of the soldiers, on a holiday card drive that will put thousands of custom-designed greeting cards in the hands of troops overseas.

The “Let’s Say Thanks” card drive is designed to give people back home an easy way to print, sign and send one of three distinct greeting cards to the more than 4,000 men and women of the Guard’s 48th Brigade Combat Team serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.

The card designs were drawn by several children with relatives serving overseas and selected for use by representatives from the American Institute of Graphic Arts Atlanta Chapter and the Savannah College of Art and Design. The children, ages 6 to 13, were asked to draw pictures that symbolized their gratitude and expressed how the soldiers are being missed this holiday season.

“All of the soldiers want to come home really soon and my picture represents warmth with your family,” said Sarah Wahlen, age 12 of St. John, Ind., and a greeting card design winner whose cousin is in the 48th Brigade Combat Team. Her drawing is of two children sitting on the floor in front of a fireplace during the holidays. The children’s mother sits in a chair beside them, while a second chair is empty.

Xerox will set up a card pavilion on Dec. 3 and Dec. 4 in Central Park in Atlanta’s Atlantic Station retail district. Well-wishers will be able to choose from cards already printed on Xerox’s iGen3™ Digital Production Press or ones that are printed on-demand using Xerox’s Phaser™ 8550 color printers. Following the two-day event, Xerox will ship the cards overseas to arrive at 48th BCT bases by Dec. 20.

The 48th BCT is made up of men and women from the Northwest, Midwest, Southeast and Puerto Rico, but the majority is from Georgia.

“The holidays can be particularly difficult for our troops who are used to spending that time with their friends and family,” said Captain William Arp, Georgia Family Readiness Program director. “Receiving a simple message of support from the citizens of Atlanta will be an enormous boost to them.”

“Helping the community express gratitude to the men and women who put themselves in harm’s way is a way for Xerox to give back during the holidays,” said Emerson Fullwood, chief of staff and marketing, Xerox North America. “Hopefully the sight of thousands of messages of support from home will remind the soldiers how much Americans appreciate their service.”

Contact Information

Carl Langsenkamp

Xerox Corporation

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