Participants were provided with materials, including markers, cards, scrapbook paper and stickers, to create and write a card for troops. The event was part of the Holiday Mail for Heroes project through the American Red Cross, which is taking place across the world.

Martinek said her half brother will not be coming home for the holidays, and the only way to communicate with him is through mail, which takes a long time.

“I consider these people my heroes,” she said of the troops.
Alex Shalayko, a nursing junior and member of the MSU Red Cross Club, estimated there were a few hundred cards made, five of which she made.

Remembering she has friends overseas, Shalayko said writing a card was a personal experience for her.

“It was nice … to show our appreciation for the people who are defending our country, especially if they cannot come home for the holidays,” she said.

Theatre and film studies senior Dennis Corsi made a card because he felt for the troops who might feel lonely spending the holidays without their families.

“It’s important for them to know that they are being thought about and to enjoy themselves,” he said, adding he hopes the troops have friends wherever they are stationed.

Lisa McLaren, a criminal justice sophomore and member of the MSU Red Cross Club, said she wrote multiple cards, although she does not have any friends or family overseas.

“(The troops) do a lot for our country, and we need to let them know that we appreciate what they do,” McLaren said.