USPS releases the Year of the Dragon Forever Stamp.

Commemorating the Lunar New Year, the United States Postal Service today issued a new Forever Stamp featuring a dragon, the fifth of 12 animals associated with the Chinese lunar calendar.

“The Postal Service is proud to celebrate the Lunar New Year with the issuance of this magnificent Forever Stamp,” said USPS Vice President of Sales Cliff Rucker, who dedicated the stamp. “Dragons are regarded as magical or divine, welcome symbols of renewed hope for the future. With this new stamp, we hope that the year will bring the best to all of us, no matter what sign we were born under.” 

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Customers can pre-order the Danny Thomas Forever Stamp online at usps.com.

The United States Postal Service has unveiled a commemorative Forever Stamp honoring legendary entertainer Danny Thomas, the founder of renowned St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The unveiling took place at a star-studded gala in Los Angeles this past weekend to celebrate Thomas’ 100th birthday and the St. Jude’s 50th anniversary.

“The Danny Thomas stamp, which will go on sale on Feb. 16, will become an ambassador for philanthropy, traveling on letters and packages to households and businesses throughout America and the world,” said Ed Ruiz, USPS Los Angeles district manager. “It also will serve as a lasting tribute to one of America’s most beloved and enduring entertainers who worked tirelessly to help the most helpless of all – children with diseases.” 

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“The Postal Service is one of the greenest mailing and shipping companies in the world,” said Thomas G. Day, chief sustainability officer. “We offer more than a half-billion eco-friendly mailing and shipping supplies, free package pickup and holiday cards printed on recycled paper available in 2,000 Post Offices, and the Postal Service is leading the adoption of green practices by engaging our employees, customers and suppliers.”

The Postal Service offers customers options to help reduce their carbon footprints, just as it consistently seeks ways to reduce its own environmental impact. 

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“Letters to Santa” is an annual letter-writing program through which members of the public and charitable organizations respond to children’s letters addressed to Santa Claus, the North Pole and other seasonal characters. 

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José Ferrer as the defense attorney in The Caine Mutiny - Photo from Wikipedia

José Ferrer, one of the nation’s foremost and honored actors, will be immortalized on a First-Class Forever Stamp in 2012 as the 14th luminary celebrated in the U.S. Postal Service’s Distinguished Americans series.

Considered one of the most accomplished talents of his generation, Ferrer (1912-1992) won several Tony Awards for his work on stage and performed in more than 60 movies, garnering three Academy Award nominations. He received a Best Actor Oscar for his role as Cyrano de Bergerac.

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The artwork of Romare Bearden, one of America’s most prolific artists, is featured on a set of four Forever stamps dedicated today by the U.S. Postal Service during a first-day-of-issuance ceremony at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

“Today, we are proud to dedicate a sheet of stamps that honor a man who became one of the 20th Century’s most distinguished, important and inventive American artists,” said Deputy Postmaster General Ron Stroman. “Using various materials, such as foil, cut paper, and fabric, Romare Bearden transformed collage into a forceful means of expression with mainstream appeal – and in doing so, he framed the complexities of the African-American experience in a broad historical and cultural context.”

Joining Stroman to dedicate the stamp were E.T. Williams, chairman of the Board of Directors, Romare Bearden Foundation; Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad, director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; Thelma Golden, director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem, and Raschelle Parker, manager, Marketing, New York District, U.S. Postal Service. 

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Use the USPS mobile app to track packages and watch their progress on a map.

Look up a ZIP Code. Locate nearby postal locations. Find shipping prices. Track packages. Get delivery information. The Postal Service is proud to announce that more than one million iPhone, iPod touch and iPad customers have downloaded the U.S. Postal Service app.

“We’re expanding access to our products and services,” said Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe. “We know simpler is better – a million mobile customers can’t be wrong.”

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Two Stamps Recognize 50th Anniversary of First Manned Spaceflight

The Postal Service dedicated two stamps today commemorating two historic events – one that occurred a half century ago, and the second that’s making history now.

The 50th anniversary of America’s first manned spaceflight and an unmanned spacecraft currently charting planet Mercury were commemorated today on two 44-cent First-Class Forever stamps. The dedication ceremony took place next to a seven-story replica of the rocket Alan Shepard piloted to become America’s first man in space. A second stamp celebrates the MESSENGER Mission spacecraft that is currently orbiting and charting planet Mercury. 

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“The United States Postal Service wants to do its best to honor Helen Hayes and her remarkable legacy with its latest commemorative Forever Stamp,” said Joseph Corbett, Chief Financial Officer and executive vice president, during the 27th Helen Hayes Awards program in the nation’s capital. “From this day forward, this wonderful image of Miss Hayes will travel quickly, easily and affordably on letters and packages throughout the nation. 

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The post office says that government regulations are partly to blame for the fiscal problems it faces. Photo by pacdog.

The Postmaster General told a congressional subcommittee Wednesday that despite taking aggressive steps to reduce costs, the U.S. Postal Service will not survive as a self-financing entity without significant changes to current law.

Testifying before the Subcommittee on Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and Labor Policy on Oversight and Government Reform, Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe pointed out that during the last two fiscal years, the Postal Service has reduced costs by some $9 billion and the plan is to take out another $2 billion in 2011. But the Postal Service still lost a “staggering” $8.5 billion in 2010 and is projecting to be in the red this year by $6.4 billion.

Conceding that some of these losses can be attributed to Americans’ changing modes of communication, Donahoe said, but mainly “our losses are the result of an inflexible business model due to the laws that govern the Postal Service.” 

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USPS expects most customers will be unaffected by the increase in postage. Although other postal services will go up, First Class Mail will remain at $0.44.

Price changes announced by the U.S. Postal Service in January will take effect April 17. This is the first USPS price change in two years and officials say that it will have minimal impact on retail customers who will continue to pay only 44 cents for a stamp.

“Postal Service products and services offer a great value to the American public,” said Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe. “For a very affordable price, you can send letters, bill payments, packages, and other mail across town or across the nation.”

Price changes of note for retail customers include the following:

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“The Postal Service is very excited by the response this new CD has already received,” said Linda Kingsley, vice president, Channel Access. “People don’t usually think about going to the Post Office to buy Valentine’s Day gifts, but our customers can purchase the CD for a great price and ship it at an even better price from the same, convenient location.”

Read the rest of Love Is in the Mail at a Post Office Near You

Sustainability initiatives from the USPS include free eco-friendly packaging for postal customers.

Lean Green Teams helped the Postal Service reduce energy, water, solid waste to landfills and petroleum fuel use, saving the agency more than $5 million in 2010. Environmental policies also helped the Postal Service recycle more than 222,000 tons of material—an increase of nearly 8,000 tons over the prior year—which generated $13 million in revenue, and saved an additional $9.1 million in landfill fees.

“Across the country, postal employees are participating in more than 80 cross-functional Lean Green Teams that are producing significant results in energy reduction and resource conservation,” said Emil Dzuray, acting Chief Sustainability Officer.

Lean Green Teams build on the Postal Service’s efforts to create a culture of conservation and on its long history of environmental and socially responsible leadership. The teams are helping mesh low-cost and no-cost sustainable practices with performance management systems to help the Postal Service meet the following reduction goals by 2015:

• facility energy use 30 percent
• water use 10 percent
• petroleum fuel use 20 percent
• landfill waste 50 percent.

The Postal Service is on track to achieve these goals, according to Dzuray, and plans to deploy Lean Green Teams nationwide by 2012.

“With nearly 32,000 facilities, a presence in every community, and the largest civilian fleet in the nation, we know how important our efforts are to make a positive impact on the environment,” Dzuray added. “Our employee green teams are an important part of building a conservation culture and reducing our carbon footprint.”

As part of its green efforts, the Postal Service buys sustainable materials and works to reduce the amount of consumables it buys. The agency first developed a “buy green” policy more than 12 years ago, and has a goal to reduce spending on consumables 30 percent by 2020. In 2009, its consumables spending decreased 16 percent from the previous year. Additionally, the Postal Service is working to increase the percentage of environmentally preferable products it buys by 50 percent by 2015. These are products that are bio-based, have recycled content, are eco-labeled and are energy and water efficient.

The Postal Service is the only mailing and shipping company in the world whose shipping supplies and postage products have earned Cradle to Cradle CertificationCM , meaning they are designed with materials that are safe for human health and the environment. The agency has won more than 75 environmental awards, including 40 White House Closing the Circle, 10 Environmental Protection Agency WasteWise Partner of the Year, Climate Action Champion, Direct Marketing Association Green Echo, and the Postal Technology International Environmental Achievement of the Year.

For more information about the Lean Green Teams or the U.S. Postal Service’s other sustainability initiatives, visit usps.com/green.

The U.S. Postal Service today officially unveiled the images of its commemorative stamp program. Among this year’s honorees are former President Ronald Reagan, legendary author Mark Twain, award-winning actor and actress Gregory Peck and Helen Hayes, and Latin music giants Selena, Carlos Gardel, Carmen Miranda, Tito Puente and Celia Cruz.

In addition, former U.S. Congresswoman from Texas Barbara Jordan is the 2011 Black Heritage stamp honoree. Stamps will be issued to observe the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the 50th anniversary of America’s first manned spaceflight and a celebration of Disney Pixar movie characters: Lightning McQueen and Mater from Cars; Remy the rat and Linguini from Ratatouille; Buzz Lightyear and two of the green, three-eyed aliens from Toy Story; Carl Fredricksen and Dug from Up; and the robot WALL*E from Wall*E on Send a Hello stamps.

New designs in several series stamps will be issued including Purple Heart, Wedding and Holidays stamps in 2011.

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Simplified addressing enables business mailers to use mail delivery route information, instead of names and exact addresses, to reach target customer groups in specific areas. It has long been an accepted addressing option on rural routes and for government mailings.

Effective Jan. 2, 2011, simplified addressing will be expanded for use on saturation flat-size mailpieces and irregular parcels delivered on city routes.

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The community can volunteer to help answer letters from children in Operation Santa.

For generations, writing a letter to Santa Claus has been a tradition during the holidays. And for some kind-hearted folks, answering those letters has also been a holiday custom.

Back in 1912, Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized postal employees and local citizens to respond to the many letters written to Santa. The goodwill program, known as Operation Santa, has changed over the years. In the 1940’s, mail volume for Santa grew so much that the Postal Service invited local businesses and charitable organizations to participate by providing written responses and small gifts.

Today handwritten letters addressed to Santa Claus still arrive at the Post Office. Although current privacy and security regulations prevent personal information contained in the letters (such as a last name and address) from being given to the public, the program continues on in many locations with the Postal Service acting as facilitator.

Businesses and corporations, charitable groups and individual citizens can adopt letters from children or families who may need some extra help this year.

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“The Postal Service is making it simpler to ship packages to family and friends this season with Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes, Click-N-Ship and free package pickup,” says Steve Forte, senior vice president, Operations. “And proper addressing and packaging will help us give every gift the service it deserves.”

Read the rest of Want Your Packages to Arrive on Time? Follow Shipping Guidelines from USPS

Although it will end the year $8.5 billion in the red, the U.S. Postal Service handles more than 44% of the world's mail volume.

The incoming postmaster general told a U.S. Senate subcommittee Thursday that one of his highest priorities would be to improve the customer experience, making the Postal Service “leaner, faster and smarter” in the years ahead.

Deputy Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe, who will become the nation’s 73rd postmaster general on Monday, said he is looking at all the ways the Postal Service deals with its customers. “Every interaction with us,” he said, “with a carrier, a clerk, at a kiosk, at a contracted desk or online must be a great one.”

Addressing the current state of the Postal Service, he acknowledged that the past several years have been challenging but there are significant accomplishments that should not be overlooked.

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“We know our customers want more time with their friends and families during the holidays and less time shipping gifts,” said Tim Healy, vice president, Retail Products and Services. “We are highlighting the products and services that make holidays less stressful, less hectic — and yes, simpler — for our customers.”

To kick off the holiday season, the U.S. Postal Service issued four, new forever stamps for the 2010 holiday season as well as a single stamp featuring a musical angel.

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“These bold artists used art to express complicated ideas and primitive emotions in simplified, abstract form,” said Linda Kingsley, USPS senior vice president, Strategy and Transition. “Although these stamps can’t compare in size to their real-life canvases, they bring the passion and spirit of abstract expressionism to an envelope near you. The Postal Service is proud to pay tribute to the legacy and unique perspectives of these revolutionary artists.”

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“It’s never too early or too late to become a more informed consumer,” said Delores J. Killette, U.S. Postal Service vice president and Consumer Advocate. “This year, NCPW’s goal is to educate consumers of all ages on how they can prevent becoming a victim of fraud and scams.”

As part of National Consumer Protection Week, USPS is calling attention to free resources to help people protect personal privacy and avoid identity theft and other fraud schemes. The Postal Inspection Service offers the following tips for consumers to avoid becoming a victim of fraud:

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On sale for a limited time at select Post Offices nationwide, “Love Letters from Ella” is a collection of the jazz singer’s most cherished love songs, recorded with some of her favorite collaborators — including Count Basie and his orchestra, Joe Pass and André Previn.

This special edition, first released in 2007, includes a full reproduction of Fitzgerald’s commemorative postage stamp. After purchasing a CD, postal customers can easily ship their “Love Letters” using packaging available at the Post Office.

The 10-track CD, mixed in high-definition audio, includes Fitzgerald singing “Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone” with the Count Basie Orchestra, a duet of Joe Pass and Fitzgerald on “The One I Love” and her performance of “Our Love is Here to Stay” with pianist, conductor and composer André Previn.

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The list of names among the subjects headlining the 2010 stamp program is a varied by elite group. The U.S. Postal Service announced today 30 new sets of stamps that will be released during the coming year. The stamps will commemorate great volunteers such as Mother Teresa and Katherine Hepburn as well as Western stars Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. Stamps will be issued to recognize groups such as the Scouts of America and Abstract Expressionists. And, finally, 2010 will also see additions to the popular “Love” line of stamps and the education series.

USPS will make a welcome addition to the regular line-up of postage options. Later this year, postal customers will benefit from the first stamp designed specifically for oversized or odd-sized greeting cards. On May 17, the Postal Service will issue the Monarch butterfly stamp for use on cards and envelopes that require additional postage. An illustration of a generic butterfly will be depicted on the envelopes to remind shoppers to use the new Monarch butterfly stamp.

Here is a list of the stamps that the USPS will issue in 2010:

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Stamp ceremony attendees who arrive prior to 9 a.m. on the day of the event will receive free admission to the Aquarium at the Members Express Entrance. Those that arrive after 9 a.m., may still purchase general admission tickets.

“Stamps are fun and educational tools that commemorate America’s history, heroes and leaders,” said Long Beach Postmaster Ken Snavely. “They also pay homage to the land we love and the great diversity and natural beauty of our country.”

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The U.S. Postal Service proudly joins the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and Campbell Soup Company to support the NALC Stamp Out Hunger National Food Drive, designed for people to help those in need right in their own city or town.

Show Mom some love by donating non-perishable food to help some 35.5 million people, including 12 million children, who face hunger every day in America. The process to donate is simple: Put non-perishable food items in a bag and place it by your mailbox. Your letter carrier will pick it up and deliver it to local food banks.

“This Stamp Out Hunger drive is a tradition entering its 17th year,” said Postmaster General John E. Potter. “The generosity of our customers has filled food banks and pantries all across the nation. Our employees will further demonstrate their powerful reach into each of their communities and how our assistance helps those in need.”

Letter carriers in more than 10,000 cities and towns across America will deliver much more than mail when they walk and drive along their postal routes to collect food donations for distribution to community banks and pantries throughout the country. Nearly 1,500 local NALC branches in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands are involved in the drive.

To promote this year’s drive, the Postal Service’s Priority Mail and Campbell Soup co-sponsored the printing of 130 million postcards encouraging the public’s participation. Public service announcements featuring movie and television stars David Arquette and Courteney Cox, as well as the Harlem Globetrotters, are being made available throughout the country. Valpak Direct Marketing Systems is focusing 40 million of its envelopes on encouraging food donations and Valassis is promoting the drive with 85 million of its mail-delivered Red Plum wraps.

Other co-sponsors of the drive are Feeding America, formerly known as America’s Second Harvest, the nation’s food bank network; the United Way of America and its local United Ways; and the AFL-CIO.

In 2008, NALC members, with the assistance of rural letter carriers, other postal employees and numerous other volunteers, collected 73,113,915 pounds of food for the needy from postal customers. That brought the total for the first 16 years of conducting the drive to nearly one billion pounds of food.