It was a Thursday afternoon in early July, and Carolyn Pinta was home alone when she heard a knock on the door. She hesitated before she answered, unsure about her unexpected guest’s intentions.

The intentions, it turns out, were lovely.

Standing at Pinta’s front door was Katie Benn, an air defense officer in the U.S. Army. Benn was visiting Chicago and decided to track down the Pinta Pride Project headquarters in nearby Buffalo Grove using the return address on dozens of postcards and holiday cards and other missives she’d been receiving, reminding her she’s loved and supported and worthy of both.

Benn, who has served in the Army for 13 years, is transgender. When President Donald Trump ordered a ban on trans service members, Benn was placed on administrative absence and hasn’t returned to duty.

“The Army has been my family since I first enlisted,” Benn told me.

Being separated from them plunged her into a dark period, she said. At points, she considered suicide.

Cards from strangers convinced her otherwise.

Those cards originated with Pinta, who launched a campaign in 2022 to send holiday cards to people in the........

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