Heartwarming holiday

Rachael Ray used Priority Mail last week to salute people she deemed “holiday heroes.”

On the Dec. 11 edition of her TV talk show, Ray spotlighted Austin Smoyer, a 6-year-old Virginia boy who collects donations for a local food bank.

At the end of the segment, New York, NY, Letter Carrier Calvin Kuang surprised Austin and his mother with dozens of Priority Mail boxes filled with non-perishable food for the bank.

Kuang also delivered Priority Mail boxes filled with supplies for a Florida couple who use inspirational artwork to promote random acts of kindness.

Additionally, Kuang delivered boxes of Ray-branded cookware and cookbooks to a woman who lost hers in a fire.

Ray praised the Postal Service as “our go-to holiday resource” at the beginning of the sponsored segment, which continued the host’s season of giving.

On other recent shows, Ray used Priority Mail to send holiday decorations to a Connecticut military family and school supplies to a Massachusetts kindergarten teacher.