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Christmas Bookmarks for Troops

Last summer Shelly Worrell, wife of Chaplain Mark Worrell, decided to make bookmarks from old Christmas cards to send to deployed troops as a reminder to them that they are remembered and prayed for through the Christmas season. She sent out an e-mail and posted her plan on her Facebook page, asking friends to recycle their old Christmas cards by sending them to her to be made into bookmarks. The project was simple: she cut the cards to bookmark size, used scrapbook supplies to round the corners, and then used a hole punch to make a hole for a length of ribbon.

Shelly’s goal was to make a thousand bookmarks, but thanks to a great response, she more than doubled that number. Eventually friends at Vision of Hope, part of Faith Ministries in Lafayette, Ind., joined in the project. Last month Shelly mailed 800 bookmarks each to three chaplains in Kuwait and Afghanistan to distribute to their troops.

“It was a super fun project and I am starting to work on them for next year,” Shelly says. She invites you to contact her at shellyworrell@gmail.com if you have questions, would like to send her old Christmas cards, or would like to send completed bookmarks to forward to deployed troops.