"Stamp" out our problems.

Even with today's technology, the humble postal stamp still has a place in our society. Many of us use them to mail bills, letters or greeting cards. Some of us collect them. I like to keep an assortment of stamps so that I can match the stamp to the 'spirit' of the mail I'm sending. For example, I used AIDS awareness stamps for my grad school applications and EE Just stamps for my graduation announcements.

But did you know that stamps are also used to raise money for certain social causes? These so-called semipostal stamps cost $.45 and additional money over the regular first class rate goes to support various organizations. Currently there are three semipostal stamps available:

* The Stop Family Violence stamp is used to raise money for domestic violence programs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

* The Breast Cancer stamp has raised more than $37 million for breast cancer research. 70 percent of the net amount raised is given to the National Institutes of Health and 30 percent is given to the Medical Research Program at the Department of Defense.

* The Heroes of 2001 stamp raises funds to provide assistance to families of emergency relief personnel killed or permanently disabled in connection with the US terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

So visit your local post office or www.usps.com, or call 1-800-STAMP24 (1-800- 782-6724) to get these stamps. You'll be supporting a worthy cause and spreading the word so that others can do the same.