US Postal Service 2003 Annual Report Download - page 12

10 | 2003 annual report united states postal service
the mail ... and more
Is the mail important? No doubt about it.
It’s the center of a huge part of the American
economy. The Postal Service is the heart of a
$900 billion industry that employs 9 million of
your friends and neighbors.
But numbers only tell part of the story. For
more than 225 years, the mail has been a:
Messenger of sympathy and love,
Servant of parted friends,
Consoler of the lonely,
Bond of the scattered family,
Enlarger of the common life,
Carrier of news and knowledge,
Instrument of trade and industry,
Promoter of mutual acquaintance,
Of peace and of goodwill among men and
nations.
Stirring words. In fact, they’re carved into
the cornice of the former Washington, DC,
City Post Office, now the site of the
Smithsonian Institution’s National Postal
Museum. They describe the power of the
mail. They just as accurately describe the
caring men and women of the Postal Service.
These are the men and women who this
year collected almost 62 million pounds of
food to help “Stamp Out Hunger” as part of the
eleventh annual National Association of Letter
Carriers Food Drive. Since 1993, they
collected an incredible 587 million pounds of
food from caring customers along their routes.
These are the men and women who
deliver the gift of life through their participa-
tion in the National Marrow Donor Program.
Since 1997, some 18,000 postal employees
have volunteered as marrow donors. And
more than 40 have delivered the gift of life to
someone in need.
These are the men and women who, in
cities large and small, take the time each
holiday season to help Santa with his mail.
They work to bring the magic of the season to
thousands of children and families whose
dreams might otherwise be unfulfilled.
These are the men and women who are
the caring and watchful eyes for the elderly
and disabled in their communities. On some
days, they’re the only point of human contact
for home-bound customers. Through the
Carrier Alert program, postal employees work
with local agencies, such as the United Way,
the Red Cross or the Agency on Aging, when
they notice changes in routines that could
mean a customer is in distress.
These are the men and women who rode
with or supported the Tour of Hope, whose one-
week, cross-country cycling journey inspired
thousands to learn more about cancer
research and the importance of clinical trials.
The Team’s journey took them through 14
states, beginning in Los Angeles and ending
with a triumphant entry into Washington, DC,
led by Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor, leader
of the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team and
five-time winner of the Tour de France.
We’re serious about the mail. We’re just as
serious about helping to make the communi-
ties we serve — the same communities
where we live — as good as they can be.
That’s why we care so much about our role as
“enlargers of the common life”. It’s what we
do.