Cards for Soldiers Hot as the Coffee at Big Bean

As Severna Park Patch reported on , Deb Hoffman, owner of the coffee shop at 558 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd., has a program inviting the community to stop by to contribute unused holiday cards to share with customers in sending a note to soldiers stationed overseas. 

Beginning on Veterans Day, the idea is now in motion, with a mailbox sitting next to the coffee dispensers stocked with donated blank holiday cards.

Hoffman started the program three years ago and said that last year, more than 75 cards brought in from customers, and another 50-plus handmade cards from local Brownie and Girl Scout troops, were sent to soldiers serving our country.

It works like this: Bring in a few leftover holiday cards to the Big Bean and write a greeting to a soldier serving overseas, while sharing the rest with customers.

"It's that simple," said Hoffman. "We have a lot of customers who come by, filling time between appointments. Many of those customers will take just a couple minutes to write an encouraging note. During the holidays when everyone is so busy, we make it easy to give back in a small, but meaningful way."

For soldiers serving overseas, a piece of mail means a lot, she said. 

The deadline to send a greeting is Dec. 9.