Cahaba Heights Adopt a Pet Stamp Event

As promised, Postmarks is posting pictures as they arrive of all of the Alabama District Adopt A Pet Stamp release events. Today, the Cahaba Heights branch (Birmingham) sold many stamps and brought more even attention to the needs of shelter and rescue animals.

Cahaba Mountain Brook Animal Clinic and Liberty Animal Hospital staff were there with three dogs who needed new homes. The presence of the animals was a big hit: customers would walk in, see the dogs, head right over to pet them, and then ask about purchasing the stamps.

Cahabe Heights' Postal staff did a fantastic job of making both the animals and the customers feel welcome, and for the brief time that Postmarks was able to visit, customers kept streaming in and coming over to the animals and to the stamp counter.

Carrier Mary Walls poses with an available dog that is available no more: she decided to adopt the dog herself.

Customer Bob McArdle poses with an available dog after purchasing several sheets of the Adopt A Pet stamps. McArdle, owner of the business Bob the Big Dog Pet Sitting Service, plans to put the stamps on envelopes that he leaves for his customers so that they can send payment for services rendered.

Customer Judy Jackson is very happy to have helped feed shelter animals by purchasing Adopt A Pet stamps.

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Reminder

Don't forget that the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is tomorrow, May 8. You can do your part by leaving a bag of non-perishable items by your mailbox, and your letter carrier will do the rest.

If any Alabama employees take pictures of the food drive, please send them to Postmarks so that we can share them with everyone. Let us know who took the pictures and hopefully, who is in the pictures, and we'll post them on the blog.

Breast Cancer Awareness at Fairview Branch in Birmingham, Alabama

For three days, April 30 - May 3, the Fairview Post Office conducted events to increase Breast Cancer Awareness in honor of Mothers' Day. A tower of lovely pink cupcakes along with refreshing pink punch lured customers to the wealth of information on breast cancer that was provided, and customers who bought Breast Cancer Awareness Stamps were encouraged to sign a memorium book, where they could dedicate their purchases to loved ones who had suffered from breast cancer.

Fairview's event was a success on many levels: members of the community were anxious to learn more and to make dedications; the Fairview staff was enthusiastic and welcoming; and although the final totals are not yet tallied, OIC Alecia Henderson estimates that over $2000 in Breast Cancer Awareness stamps were sold.

Postmarks thanks you, Fairview staff, for inviting us to attend your terrific event. Here are some pictures from our visit:

Carrier Anna Vincent shares information on breast cancer with customer Hudson Myers.

Top Row: Katie Bell, Anna Vincent
Bottom Row: Bill Moore, Alecia Henderson, Tenny Jones

Retail Associate Katie Bell with customer Janice Steward after she purchased Breast Cancer Awareness stamps and signed the memorium book.

Read more about Fairview's Breast Cancer Awareness Event in this quarter's Postmarks.

Irondale Adopt a Pet Stamp Event

Postmarks thanks Stacey Norwood, web photographer for the Greater Birmingham Humane Sociey, for providing us with pictures of the Irondale Adopt A Pet stamp release event. To see more of Stacey's photography and of the pets available at GBHS, visit GBHS.org and/or join their Facebook group.

Manager Jesse Barlow estimates that close to 3,000 Adopt A Pet stamps were sold.

Calera Post Office Teams with Humane Society on May 11

Taken from The Shelby County Reporter:

The Calera Post Office will be celebrating one of its newest products while working to give a home to some of Shelby County’s homeless animals.


The post office, off U.S. 31, will be partnering with the Shelby County Humane Society from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. May 11 as part of the United States Postal Service’s new Adopt-a-Shelter Pet Stamp campaign.

During the event, visitors will be able to obtain information about the pets available at the Humane Society, and learn more about how to adopt them.

Through the Adopt-a-Shelter Pet Stamp campaign, the USPS will be donating 1 million meals to pets at animal shelters across the country. The Postal Service will also be offering 10 unique stamps featuring five cats and five dogs adopted from American animal shelters.

“We want more Americans to know about the millions of shelter pets that need good homes,” read information on the campaign’s website. “Nearly half of the animals that enter animal shelters are euthanized.

“Many of these cats and dogs would have made a wonderful pet, if only given the chance,” the site read.

For more information about the event or the stamp campaign, call the Calera Post Office at 668-3197, the Humane Society at 669-3916 or visit Stampstotherescue.com.

Weaver Employees 1500+ Safe Days

The employees of the Weaver Post Office have worked over 1500 days accident free. While all aspects of Safety are important, the one that concerns us the most is the safety of children on our routes. A Best Practice habit that Carrier Alice Smith shared with our group is that when she sees children in a yard where she is about to deliver mail, even if she is only stopping at the mail box, she “counts heads”. Before she pulls away from the box, she accounts for each child who was in the yard when she approached. Habits like that and following the rules about vehicle, driving safety, and work room safety are the way to stay safe.

submitted by Weaver Postmaster Roswitha J. Sparks

Fairhope Pet Pantry Kickoff Coincides with USPS Adopt a Pet Stamp Release

Pet Pantry aims to keep pets and owners together | al.com
The pet adoption stamps have created an interest in USPS stamps that Postmarks hasn't seen in a long time. Here's just one example of the good things that can happen when awareness is brought to a social issue via stamps.

Pet Pantry aims to keep pets and owners together

By Press-Register Correspondent

April 29, 2010, 9:07AM

The tough economy has hit Baldwin County’s animals hard.

A record number of families are making the difficult decision to give up their pets because they can no longer afford to feed them, said Sonja Presley, executive director of the Baldwin County Humane Society.

"Owner surrenders are at an all-time high," Presley said. "We see it every day. When the economy is bad, oftentimes the dogs and the cats are the first to be downsized."

That’s why the Humane Society, also known as BARC!, earlier this month established the first Pet Food Pantry in the region. The program kickoff will coincide with release of the U.S. Postal System’s "Stamps to the Rescue," which raises public awareness of the need to adopt rescued shelter cats and dogs, officials said.

The Postal Service is issuing the special 44-cent stamps — Animal Rescue: Adopt a Shelter Pet — in 10 designs and its campaign is titled "These Stamps are Something to Wag At."

The Humane Society has partnered with community food banks — Ecumenical Ministries in Foley and Fairhope, and Prodisee Pantry in Spanish Fort — to provide income-eligible families with pet food and cat litter.

"We approached the food banks and they have clients who have been asking for pet food for a long time," Presley said. "They are feeding their people food to their pets."

Income-eligible families can pick up their pet food at Ecumenical Ministries throughout the week and at Prodisee Pantry on Tuesdays, starting next week from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., where the Humane Society van will be loaded with pet food for distribution.

To stock shelves, the public is being asked to donate all types of pet food — dry or canned chow for dogs, cats, puppies and kittens — and drop them off at various collection points throughout Baldwin County, Presley said. Smaller bags of 10 pounds or less are preferred because they are easier to store and distribute, and cat litter also is needed, she said.

"This is an ongoing pet food pantry and distribution rather than a one-time pet food drive," Presley said.

Collection points are being added daily, but currently pet food can be dropped off at the following locations:

Robertsdale Feed Store at 21353 Ala. 59 South.

PetSense at the Tanger Outlet in Foley.

Get Personal Custom Embroidery at 14923 Ala. 59 in Foley.

RW North Salon at 25325 U.S. 98 in Daphne.

Baldwin County Humane Society office at 306 Magnolia Ave. in Fairhope.

Pet food and cat litter donation drives also will be held at local post offices simultaneously with the debut of "Stamps to the Rescue," which bear images of rescued shelter cats and dogs.

"It is just divine intervention that the postmasters approached me about it," Presley said.

The public is being asked to bring pet food and litter to the Fairhope Post Office on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon and to the Foley Post Office on May 15 from 9 a.m. to noon.

For more information about the pet food drive at the post offices, contact Fairhope Postmaster Gaylon Levins or Foley Post Office Customer Service Supervisor Dave Beasley; or visit http://stampstotherescue.com.

Since the community pet food drive began last week, Presley said donations have come from people who responded to an electronic newsletter sent over the Internet to some 4,000 people on Facebook, My Space and Twitter.

"We used all our social networking tools to get the word out," Presley said.

In addition to donations, volunteers are necessary to deliver the items from distribution sites to the three food pantries and to distribute them, Presley said.

"We keep the shelves stocked at Ecumenical Ministries and people come in daily to get their pet food," Presley said. "But we need more groups — women’s clubs, church groups and individuals — to help distribute the food at Prodisee Pantry. We must have three volunteers there every Tuesday."

Anyone who wants to lend a helping hand, including business owners interested in serving as a collection point, should contact Presley at 251-928-4585, ext. 102 or by e-mail at BARC_ExecDir@BaldwinHumane.org.

The Baldwin County Humane Society incorporated in 1979 as a not-for-profit countywide animal welfare organization.

"This is a passion project for our board President Maria Gwynn, who was one of the original founders of the Baldwin County Humane Society in 1979," Presley said.