PORT ANGELES — Jeana Johnson-Clayton of Port Angeles mailed her Christmas cards early.
Well, they’re not really hers.
On Tuesday, she shipped 47 boxes filled with 5,000 to 6,000 blank Christmas cards to military servicemen and women stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
If all goes according to plan, the military personnel will mail them back — to their families and friends.
Johnson-Clayton, 44, office manager at Peninsula Daily News’ Sequim office, said she was surprised by the number of cards that were donated to her from all over Washington and Oregon.
“I was overwhelmed,” she said.
“It’s touching to see how many people contributed.”
About a month ago, Johnson-Clayton placed an ad in the Peninsula Daily News requesting blank greeting cards for troops so they can write home to their loved ones.
Christmas cards are not available in Muslim countries, which is why Johnson-Clayton thought the troops would appreciate having cards to mail home.
She said the project was time-consuming — boxing the cards, locating the addresses of troops and filling out the postage forms.
The boxes cost $323.40 to ship, which was covered by Peninsula Daily News.
The Christmas card campaign evolved from an idea that she and her husband, Tony Clayton, 48, had while planning their October 2004 wedding.
They asked their wedding guests to donate calling cards so troops abroad could talk with their families instead of giving wedding gifts.
At the time, Johnson-Clayton’s son, Chris, 20, was preparing to go to Iraq with the Marine Corps, which prompted the idea.
Since then, she has been involved in similar efforts to help overseas troops communicate with family and friends back home.