How You Can Help Bring Birthday Cheer to Aging Veterans Around the Country

Janine Stange is on a mission. 

Actually, she's currently on her 101st mission. Each mission happens around once a month. She and her squad, Janine's Team, band together to send birthday greetings to veterans around the country. Veterans are floored when their mailboxes explode with well-wishes from a grateful nation – most even join Janine's Team to carry it forward.

Janine is a motivational speaker, singer, and on-air personality. You can hear her every Thursday morning on Sirius XM's "'60s Gold with Phlash Phelps." But she's best known for her historic journey to sing the Star-Spangled Banner in all 50 states to honor America's veterans, a journey documented in the film "National Anthem Girl." 

"My mom always sent birthday cards to her family and friends," she says. "Each month, she would go to the stationary store and get stacks of cards, write a personal note inside, seal the envelopes with those shiny gold stickers, and time their delivery just right so they arrived on the recipient's birthday."

Young Janine grew up thinking that mailing stacks of personal notes and cards was a normal thing. Even when mailing cards were more common, her mom's handwritten notes were rare. Her mom sadly passed away in 2012.

"I still hear from people who loved receiving those cards," the singer says. "I recently saw an old friend of hers, and she told me she always knew she could rely on a birthday card from my mom to make her feel special, even at times when her own family would forget." 

While Janine was on the road completing her 50-state tour, she gathered stacks of handwritten notes and cards for Operation Gratitude, forwarding a little of her mom's style to the troops deployed overseas. People loved them. Her tour ended in 2014, but Janine had earned a healthy following of patriots and well-wishers along the way. She calls them "Janine's Team."

"I must admit, I didn't 'formalize' or start counting and documenting each mission until a few years in," Janine says. "So technically, we're well over 100 missions; veterans of WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Storm – ages 50 all the way up to 105!"  

In 2015, she occasionally would hear about a veteran having a big birthday, and she'd put it out to Janine's Team, either over email or on Sirius XM, to help get a wave of birthday cards sent to that special vet – and it works.

"Over the years, word began to spread, the list has grown, and so has the number of requests," says Stange. We went from around a dozen requests a year, and now we're at about four dozen yearly. So we are up to mission 100, but well over 100 veterans have received hundreds and, at times, thousands of cards."

These are her "missions," and with her team's help, she can make at least one happen per month. Church groups, DAR chapters, office groups, and more band together to send birthday greetings. Some even make extraordinary efforts when they realize the veteran lives nearby.

"I must admit, I didn't 'formalize' or start counting and documenting each mission until a few years in," Janine says. "So technically, we're well over 100 missions; veterans of WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Storm – ages 50 all the way up to 105!"  

"One member drove over two hours to drop off birthday cupcakes to a veteran during COVID, " Janine recalls. "Some end up becoming pen-pals, and many of these vets are in their 90s and 100s, so they stay active by writing letters… Seeing and hearing about all that transpires is truly amazing and heartwarming."

To be considered for a mission, all you have to do is send Janine an email (the link is on the Join Janine's Team page) with at least eight weeks' notice. To join Janine's Team, write cards, and help make veteran birthdays special, fill out this form.