Posti and the war veteran associations organized the popular card campaign for our veterans and our war-time women for the sixth time! This year set a record with approximately 60,000 thank you cards, even more than in Finland’s centennial year in 2017.
The card campaign reminds us of the importance of staying in touch, especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many elderly people have been partially isolated from their families and communities.
“We are incredibly happy and touched by the amazing number of people who wanted to show our honorary citizens how much they care. I would like to thank everyone who sent a card. The elderly may be feeling lonely and they may not have access to digital means of communication. For the generation of veterans, letters and cards are the most familiar way of communicating,” says Posti’s Tuija Åkerman.
There are currently 6,500 card-carrying veterans in Finland. In addition, there are also roughly 15,000 war-time women. The average age of our veterans is 95.
“For the war veteran associations, the large number of Independence Day cards shows that the men and women of our wars have not been forgotten. The fact that Finns so obviously and genuinely care and want to thank our veterans as well as our war-time women and war widows on Independence Day makes us very happy,” says Pia Mikkonen of the Sotiemme Veteraanit (Our War Veterans) and Sotiemme Naiset (The Women of our Wars) collection.
“It’s fantastic that there were so many cards that each recipient received more than one greeting. I’ve heard that, in previous years, the cards have brought joy to not only the recipient but also to a larger group of people, such as in nursing homes where they have been read out aloud,” says Tuija Åkerman.
Cards have been sent by private individuals, school classes, workplace colleagues and hobby groups. They were able to send several cards in the same envelope, and there was no need to add stamps or an address to the cards. Mail carriers will deliver the cards to veterans and our war-time women in accordance with address information provided by Finland's War Veteran Association (Suomen Sotaveteraaniliitto), the Disabled War Veterans Association of Finland (Sotainvalidien Veljesliitto) and Veteran Soldiers (Rintamaveteraaniliitto), and to war widows in accordance with address information provided by the Aid Society for War Widows and Relatives of the Fallen (Kaatuneitten Omaisten liitto).
