Fifty years ago, Jeanne Perrine worked on Loveland’s Valentine Remailing Program for the very first time. It was 1975, and she worked at the Loveland Post Office. She remembers handling Valentines upstairs while volunteers were in the basement stamping. Here, she quickly fell in love with the whole program.
“Especially with everything that goes on in the world today, how many opportunities do you have to do something that just revolves around love? You don’t have many, that’s for sure,” said Jeanne, who will turn 75 in April.
For Jeanne, who retired from the Berthoud Post Office in 2006 and has been volunteering for the remailing program annually since 2010, volunteering isn’t just about stamping Valentines—it’s about spreading love and kindness that resonates far beyond her community. Everything that comes through the Valentine program is carefully hand-stamped by volunteers like Jeanne and sponsors to ensure the perfect postmark and cachet.
This year marks the 79th year the Loveland Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service, has put on the beloved remailing program.
Behind the Scenes: Troubleshooting ‘Chunky Monkeys’
The steady rhythm of stamps fills the room at the Loveland Chamber as the hum of community spirit echoes through the air. In a quiet corner of the back room, Jeanne and her longtime friend Joyce Boston—who is 90—are busy handling “Chunky Monkeys,” a playful nickname for the parcels that the other volunteers can’t quite figure out how to stamp properly.
“Some of the mail has lumps or bumps, and we need to make sure the stamps fit perfectly,” explains Deanna Sloat, Jeanne’s daughter and business programs and events director for the Loveland Chamber of Commerce.
Thankfully they have a few tricks up their sleeves to make sure everything looks just right. Working side by side, Jeanne and Joyce carefully trim, adjust, and sometimes even improvise to get the stamps on odd-shaped packages. “We love the challenge,” Jeanne says. “If the mail’s too small, we cut it and make it fit. If all else fails, we have stickers, but we always try to get everything right the first time.”
A Heartfelt Verse: Jeanne’s Love Letter to Loveland
This year’s cache stamp is extra dear to Jeanne’s heart. The 2025 cache artwork was designed by Corry McDowell and includes the following verse written by Jeanne herself:
“We can’t keep our LOVE inside,
So we spread HEARTS far and wide,
In Loveland’s embrace they abide,
To show where LOVE will always reside.”
Loveland, Colorado 2025
While Jeanne has submitted cache verses in years past, this was the first time her verse was chosen to grace the stamp. “I’m not a writer but I always wanted to be one,” she said.
Loveland receives around 100,000 Valentines annually from all 50 states and more than 100 countries across the world through its Valentine Re-mailing Program, the largest program of its kind. Sponsors and volunteers handstamp the collector’s stamp and postmark onto each individual Valentine that comes through the city’s post office.
The Power of Volunteering: Keeping the Spirit of Giving Alive
The Valentine Remailing Program isn’t Jeanne’s only volunteer gig. She has lived in Northern Colorado for 50 years and loves to give back to the community she adores. “My husband and I are Mr. and Mrs. Claus,” she said. “We just got over a really busy time – we do it all over Loveland, the Festival of Lights and the Berthoud tree lighting and parade.”
Volunteering, she says, helps keep people young, which is why she’ll keep doing it as long as she can. “Look at my friend Joyce—she’s 90, still shovels her own driveway, and volunteers at the hospital,” Jeanne said. “Volunteering gives back so much, and it keeps you young.”
How You Can Spread the Love
Want to send a Valentine of your own to spread love? To get the special 2025 collector’s envelope artwork and postmark, package pre-addressed, pre-stamped Valentines in a larger First-Class envelope. Send the envelope to Postmaster – Attention Valentines, 446 E. 29th St., Loveland, CO 80538-9998. Once received, Valentines will be removed from the larger envelope and hand-stamped before being re-mailed to intended recipients.
The official Valentine drop location sponsors include Independent Financial and Elevations Credit Union. Drop off self-addressed, stamped Valentine envelopes at these locations, as well as the Chamber of Commerce, Visitors Center and the Loveland Post Office (446 E. 29th St. Loveland, CO 80538 & 601 Cleveland Ave Loveland, CO 80537). The post office will accept Valentines dropped off in the red mailbox displayed in the lobby from Jan. 10-Feb. 10, 2025.
Elevations Credit Union members can get free stamps for their Valentines from Jan. 8- Feb. 10 at the Loveland Branch. The Loveland branch will have Valentine/heart stamps for all members who would like to drop their Valentines at the mailbox in the branch (limit 20 per member).
Mailing Deadlines:
- Jan. 29, 2025 | International mail deadline
- Feb. 7, 2025 | Continental U.S deadline
- Feb. 10, 2025 | Colorado deadline (within the state)
