Author and military wife Kristen Tsetsi has been spearheading a terrific cause, that of convincing TIME Magazine to recognize the Military Family as its next “Person of the Year.” The women and men in the United States military are truly heroes and their service to this country is given freely and unselfishly. However, those waiting for them at home are seldom recognized for their own courageousness and I think we can all agree that it is time that they receive some sort of spotlight, if only for one issue of a magazine. Check out the press release below for how you can help make this happen:
“‘Like’ it for TIME” (LIFT) has announced March 4, 2011 as “Mail-your-letter-to-TIME-day” in an appeal to the magazine’s editors to consider the military family as its 2011 Person of the Year. Several “fans” of the facebook page have committed to spreading the word on their personal blog sites, and teachers are planning to have their classes write letters to the magazine.
“I chose March 4th after remembering the riddle that goes something like, ‘What day is also a command? March forth!’ It seemed appropriate,” LIFT founder and military spouse Kristen Tsetsi says.
Tsetsi, who lives in Connecticut where her husband, former active duty Army, is currently a member of the National Guard, will write a letter herself and post it along with the mailing address to TIME Magazine at the LIFT website on February 28, making the process “as painless as possible for participants; all they have to do is print, sign, and mail the letter,” she says.
The goal, Tsetsi says, is to overwhelm TIME Magazine with letters from across the country. “I don’t have any illusions that the letters will influence their ultimate decision,” Tsetsi says. “But I do think the letters will introduce them to the idea, and with luck, they’ll get so many letters it will attract media attention.”
Media attention is key to the effort, Tsetsi explains. “It’s key to everything these days. What do people pay much attention to that isn’t covered by the media? If the military family community and its supporters make enough of an impact to be addressed by the media, people will have to take an interest.”
And it’s this interest that will strengthen the combined efforts of Mrs. Obama and Dr. Jill Biden to garner support and recognition for military families, Tsetsi says.
That it’s no easy task to get thousands of people to mail letters is not lost on Tsetsi. “It’s a leap of faith,” she says. “A number of people have already expressed their letter-mailing intent, but I’m just going to have to believe hundreds and hundreds more will do this tiny, easy thing for something so important.”
She considered creating an email campaign, she says, but decided emails were too easy to ignore and delete. “A deluge of actual letters people took the time to fold, tuck inside an envelope, stamp, and put in the mail is a bit harder to disregard,” she says. “It also speaks to a greater level of commitment on the part of the supporters.”
Website: http://likeitfortime.wordpress.com
Facebook: “Make the Military Family TIME’s Next Person of the Year”
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