Spread holiday cheer, be a post office volunteer

Story and photo by Milena Scheuring
U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz
Public Affairs intern
U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz Customer Service Technician Emilenes Brevard and Official Mail Technician Christopher Wells sort mail at Rhine Ordnance Barracks Community Mail Room. With the holidays around the corner, the amount of mail coming in and out of the mail room increases.

With the holidays around the corner, U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz Community Mail Rooms are busier than ever. It’s the season of giving back and what better way to give back than to volunteer at your local CMR?

A package is scanned at Rhine Ordnance Barracks Community Mail Room. The post office calls for volunteers during the holiday season to help with an increase of incoming and outgoing mail.

From November through January, garrison CMRs are looking for volunteers to help process mail faster. Volunteers assist with unloading trucks, preparing parcels, printing parcel slips and handing parcels out to customers.

Garrison Postal Superintendent Kirk Baldwin said volunteers help expedite product to the community and get parcels taken care of.

“Volunteering is a win-win situation that helps the post offices and gives volunteers experience,” he said.

Working in garrison mail rooms gives volunteers a chance to get familiar with U.S. Postal Service rules and regulations. This is a big head start for people looking to work for parcel delivery companies, said Baldwin.

Volunteers should be able to lift around 70 pounds and will go through a quick safety briefing on laws associated with moving mail. Times in which volunteers are needed will vary depending on when mail arrives and leaves a facility.

If interested in volunteering, stop by your local CMR at Landstuhl, Kleber Kaserne, Germersheim, Sembach Kaserne, Rhine Ordnance Barracks or Baumholder and speak to the postmaster, or give them a call. Information on how to contact your local CMR can be found on the garrison website at: https://home.army.mil/rheinland-pfalz.

For community members mailing items back to friends and family members, follow these mailing deadlines to ensure that your packages reach the U.S. before December 25:

  • Space Available Mail: Nov. 27
  • Priority Mail and First Class: Dec. 11
  • Express: Dec. 17

Lastly, while sending holiday mail, don’t forget to check your own mail as well. Due to spatial limitations, Baldwin emphasized it is vastly important to check mail as often as possible over the holidays so they can move mail out to get more mail in.