Apple picked this Arlington-born, veteran-founded platform as its App of the Day

In honor of Veterans Day, Arlington, Virginia-based Sandboxx, creator of a platform that keeps military families connected, is being featured in Apple’s app store as its App of the Day.

Sandboxx was launched on Veterans Day five years ago by Marine Corps veterans Sergeant Sam Meek and Major General Ray “E-tool” Smith. Sandboxx is an app designed to help military recruits stay connected to their loved ones via letter writing and other digital content. The company also prints letters and photos to deliver overnight to service members in training and overseas.

(Screenshot via App Store)

“Not only can friends and family send physical letters of support to loved ones directly from the Sandboxx app when they need them most, senior military leadership also send congratulatory messages from the platform to service members as they graduate from training,” Shane McCarthy, CMO at Sandboxx, told Technical.ly.

Over the summer, the sergeant major of the Marine Corps and the chief master sergeant of the Air Force began sending letters to recruits through Sandboxx as they completed their training, McCarthy said.

Sandboxx expanded dramatically after it launched when it secured contracts with a number of Department of Defense programs that are now using its platform to share other important information with families and service members, according to company. Some of the contracts it holds today are with the Navy Exchange (Nexcom), Army Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) and an innovation contract awarded in 2016 with the Marine Corps Community Services.

The company reports having almost 1.5 million users and 15,000 five-star reviews for its app. Sandboxx is available on iOS and Android devices.

McCarthy shared that this is the company’s second time being featured in Apple’s app store and described this latest feature as “one of the greatest recognitions for those who work in software.”

Sandboxx has a 25-person team working across its Crystal City office and printing and fulfillment center that ships hundreds of thousands of letters a month, McCarthy said. The company also has 20 remote staff members working across different military installations in Guam and Germany.

Here’s the team working behind the Sandboxx app:

(Courtesy photo)

“Being featured means that we can reach more service members and their families,” cofounder Meek said in a statement. “There may be a spouse or loved one who has someone who is in training right now. Hopefully they see Sandboxx on the homepage of the app store and send their loved one a message of support or get answers to their questions through our content.”

The company is also currently hiring for a range positions as it continues to scale and help brands reach the military community.