“Dear soldier,” most of the brief letters begin. Penciled consonants and vowels formed with care by little hands may look a bit wobbly, but the sentiments expressed seem even stronger for it. “You are our heroes.” “I wonder where you are.” “I hope you stay safe.” When these notes reach their final destination with military service members far from home, they are sure to touch hearts.
In observance of National Volunteer Week April 23-29, Volunteer Starkville has been collecting letters and patriotic artwork for deployed troops from volunteers in Oktibbeha, Clay and Winston Counties for Operation Gratitude, a national nonprofit that sends out more than 200,000 care packages annually. Almost every one goes out with a message from someone like Elizabeth in West Point who writes, “Thank you for dedicating your life to save us.”
The letter-writing campaign is something Volunteer Starkville has taken part in each spring since 2014. While people of all ages are participating, the project is an excellent opportunity for youth in particular to learn about service, said Jamey Bachman, Volunteer Starkville’s executive director.
“We’re so involved in lots of different things, and it’s really easy to just go about our everyday lives and forget, but our freedom is at a cost of others serving. I think it’s a great thing that reminds youth they’re able to spend time with their families and friends and get up and go to school all because there are people serving.”
Last year, the area campaign netted 1,660 letters and drawings. The goal this spring is to bring in at least 2,000. Adults and public and private school students, Scouts, soccer teams and Boys and Girls clubs are all pitching in.
Home front
Four-year-old Cillian Mabry bounded through the lobby of No Limit Jiu Jitsu in Starkville Wednesday afternoon, full of energy. But before his class began, he and a few others took time out to create colorful drawings for Operation Gratitude.
“You know how your Dada’s a soldier?” said Cillian’s mom, Emily Mabry, to her son. “Well, we’re going to make pictures for Dada’s friends.” The boy’s father, M. Caleb Mabry, is a first lieutenant in the Army National Guard.
“A lot of people who train here are in the military,” said No Limit owner and head instructor Jae McIntosh. Efforts like Operation Gratitude are valuable, in part, because “it’s important for kids to know that there are other kids their age with parents who are serving.”
One of those children is Christopher Myers, 5, who sat on his granddad’s knee at the gym to work on his drawing. His mother, Crystal Hackett, is away from home with the Army Air Guard, Ryals said. Christopher’s dad, Jonathan Myers, is in the Army.
Even young children can understand on some level that if others didn’t protect our freedom, we would not have it, said Scout volunteer Melanie Busby. Her daughter, Macy, is in Girl Scout Troop 23819 in West Point. Busby helped coordinate troop participation in Operation Gratitude. The letters written by those second- and third-graders made a lasting impression on her.
“Some of them made me cry when I read them,” Busby said.
Bachman understands. She’s been moved by letters collected as well. “How sweet is it to hear a little third-grader say, ‘God bless you’ or ‘Thank you for serving my country?'” she asked.
Not all youth composing letters are as young as 8-year-old Macy Busby. About 50 of April Hazzle’s students at West Point High School are all in, for example. For Hazzle, a Gateway Technology teacher, the campaign touched home. She’s had family members in the military and has a nephew in Germany now with the Air Force.
“My students were just tickled to take part,” she said. “I had one of them say they know this will put a smile on (a soldier’s) face. They watch the news, see different things going on with the military, and they believe sending a message will help remind them that somebody, besides family, is thinking of them.”
Bachman said, ” I just really appreciate all the schools and individuals that have partnered with us to write letters and do artwork. I know it means a great deal to the troops that are going to receive them, and it means a lot of us that they’re teaching their children about service and volunteering.”
Sometimes adults think youngsters can’t quite grasp certain things, she continued. “But I think it’s pretty remarkable that in a sense they understand the sacrifice made for them to be able to enjoy the freedoms they have.”
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Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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