When a Community Comes Together to Honor Veterans and Deployed Service Members

There are moments when you are reminded just how powerful a community can be.

This holiday season, that reminder came through Snapshots & Sentiments for Service, a heartfelt Community Impact initiative hosted at Pam Long Photography in Historic Ellicott City. What began as a simple idea, writing holiday cards for veterans and deployed service members, grew into a moving demonstration of gratitude, connection, and community care.

Over the course of four card-writing shifts, volunteers of all ages gathered at the studio to do something deeply meaningful: sit together, slow down, and write handwritten messages of gratitude and encouragement to those who serve our country.

By the end of the weekend, our community had created 1,100 handwritten cards.

Each card is a reminder that service members spending the holidays far from home, and veterans right here in our community, are seen, valued, and remembered.

More Than Words: A Personal Connection Inside Every Card

What made Snapshots & Sentiments for Service especially meaningful was its personal touch.

In addition to handwritten messages, each card includes a group photo of the volunteers from that specific writing shift. This means recipients won’t just read words of gratitude, they’ll also see the smiling faces of the people who gathered solely to say, “Thank you. We’re thinking of you.”

It’s a simple but powerful connection.
Words paired with faces.
Gratitude paired with community.

Four Shifts, One Purpose

Across four card-writing sessions, the studio loft buzzed with warmth and intention. Families, friends, colleagues, and neighbors filled the tables with markers, cards, and stickers. Thoughtful conversations and laughter mixed with quiet moments of reflection as people considered what they wanted to say to someone serving far from home.

As part of the experience, we took Polaroid photos of every person who participated and invited them to write one word that came to mind when they think of our service men and women. Those Polaroids were then arranged on the wall in the shape of a Christmas tree, a visual reminder of gratitude, unity, and the many individuals who showed up with open hearts.

A whiteboard tracked the growing card count throughout the weekend, a visible reminder of the collective impact taking shape in real time.

By the final shift, the number told the story clearly: 1,100 cards, written with heart.

Community Support That Made It Possible

Snapshots & Sentiments for Service was made possible through the generosity of volunteers and local businesses who donated supplies, treats, and support, ensuring the event could remain free and welcoming to all who wanted to participate.

Special thanks to:

Georgia Grace Café for generously providing chocolate chip bars for volunteers
The Wine Bin for donating rosé to help create a warm, celebratory atmosphere
Sweet Cascades Chocolatier for donating thoughtful goodie bags
Sherry Llewellyn for creating a cozy hot chocolate bar and volunteering throughout the weekend
Wendy Pidel for helping distribute donation boxes and volunteering throughout the weekend
Allan and Robin Kittleman and Manor Hill Tavern for a generous financial contribution
COL (Ret) Win Adkins and Mrs. Tracy Adkins for their guidance and support throughout the project and for helping deliver cards to the USO, the Army National Guard Bureau, and Military District of Washington.
Kim McGill for providing thoughtful guidance via long distance, helping us navigate both who to connect with and how best to distribute the cards with care and intention
Lisa Terry for connecting me to veterans' organizations and helping me determine the cards would have the most meaningful reach.

People near and far donated boxed holiday cards, markers, stickers, and Toys for Tots. Every donation, shared post, and encouraging message helped turn a simple idea into a something meaningful for the people receiving those cards.

Supporting Veterans Near and Far

For many recipients, these cards arrived during a season that can feel especially isolating, a time when connection matters most. A handwritten message paired with a smiling group photo served as a powerful reminder that they are not alone, and that an entire community took the time to think of them.

We are deeply grateful to those who helped ensure these cards reached the hands and hearts they were intended for. Colonel (Ret.) Win Adkins and Mrs. Tracy Adkins generously assisted with distribution to the USO, the Army National Guard Bureau, and the Military District of Washington.

We also extend our sincere thanks to Kim McGill, who provided thoughtful guidance via long distance, helping us navigate both who to connect with and how best to distribute the cards with care and intention.

In addition, Lisa Terry connected me with Judith Dye, who helped distribute cards through Bailey's Bundles, and with George Delaney, who delivered cards to veterans at Turf Valley's Lorien Encore and Columbia's Vantage Point Assisted Living Homes.

Because of their time, care, and commitment, these messages of gratitude were delivered with intention, ensuring that veterans and service members felt seen, valued, and remembered.

Community Impact in Action

Snapshots & Sentiments for Service reflects the heart of Pam Long Photography’s Community Impact mission: using creativity, connection, and storytelling to bring people together and make others feel seen and valued.

This project was never about numbers, though 1,100 cards is remarkable. It was about creating space for people to show up for others. About slowing down long enough to say thank you. About reminding both the sender and the recipient that kindness multiplies when shared.

As the cards made their way to veterans and deployed service members, one thing is certain: this community shows up, again and again, with open hearts.

And that is impact worth celebrating.

Alongside the card-writing effort, our community also rallied to support local children through a Toys for Tots collection. It began with Lexi and me assembling and decorating the donation boxes at the studio. Wendy Pidel then generously helped distribute those boxes to our business partners throughout Ellicott City and Columbia, where they were displayed for customers to contribute. Over the following weeks, neighbors dropped off new, unwrapped toys, small acts of generosity that added up in a big way. When the boxes were collected, the donations filled two large containers, a powerful reminder of how quickly kindness multiplies when a community comes together.

The cards were the heart of this project, but the moments around the tables meant just as much. Here’s a look at the people who came together to make Snapshots & Sentiments for Service happen.

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Snapshots & Sentiments for Service: A Community Card-Writing Event