The U.S. Postal Service will host a dedication ceremony next week in Rancho Mirage to commemorate the life and legacy of former first lady Betty Ford with the issuance of a forever stamp.
The stamp design was unveiled at the White House by first lady Jill Biden, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Betty Ford’s daughter, Susan Ford Bales, on March 6.
“Mom would be humbled and grateful beyond words for the extraordinary tribute of her commemorative stamp,” Bales said. “To Mom, the stamp would be a heartwarming reminder of joys of millions of breast cancer and substance use disorder survivors who have overcome their diseases and individually added to her legacy of candor and courage.”
The dedication ceremony to commemorate Ford’s life and legacy with the issuance of the Forever Stamp will be at 11 a.m. April 5 in Rancho Mirage at Eisenhower Health’s Annenberg Health Sciences Building, 39000 Bob Hope Drive, USPS officials said. It will take place three days before her birthday.
“Betty Ford changed the role of first lady,” DeJoy said in a statement. “She used the role not just as a platform to represent the nation and advance and support her husband, she used it to speak openly and honestly about issues she cared about, and about personal issues she faced.”
Betty Ford openly fought for women’s rights, campaigned for the Equal Rights Amendment, chose to share the story of her treatment after being diagnosed with breast cancer, and publicly acknowledged her substance abuse disorder. She also established, with former ambassador and close family friend Leonard Firestone, the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, in an effort to de-stigmatize substance use disorder treatment.
Her stamp will be issued in panes of 20.