Scouts help to brighten holiday for soldiers

Local girl scout troop sends holiday greetings overseas

By: Lacey Korevec
   There may not be many Christmas trees in Iraq, but 101 soldiers currently stationed near Nasiriyah will have their own ornaments anyway, to serve as a reminder that someone is thinking about them this holiday season.
   Packages with personalized cards, hand-painted holiday ornaments, decks of playing cards, toiletries and treats like hot chocolate and Oreos will be shipped overseas by the 32 Girl Scouts of Cranbury’s Troop 1467 as a result of eighth-grader Anna Coppotelli’s Silver Award project.
   "It makes me feel really touched because I know that they know we’re here supporting them and we care for them," Anna said. "It’s just really touching to know that they appreciate what we do for them and that they know we appreciate what they do for us."
   On Sunday, troop members worked busily decorating wooden ornaments and writing personalized notes, one for each soldier. And it wasn’t the first time the girls had done this for the men and women in this squadron.
   Anna’s mother, Cyndy Coppotelli, adopted the squadron last year, and the troop has been sending their thanks and support overseas to them ever since.
   "I think it’s opened up the girls’ eyes to what life is like outside of Cranbury," Ms. Coppotelli said. "It’s really given them an opportunity to give thanks to these strangers, these people who they don’t know and will never meet, but who are fighting for all the wonderful things we have here in Cranbury, the freedom we have and our lifestyle."
   Girl Scout Troop Leader Sally O’Grady said sending items to the troops is a wonderful service opportunity for the girls.
   "Cyndy is really the one who’s been instrumental in getting us involved," Ms. O’Grady said. "It was her family project first and it got very large and so she asked us to help."
   And the Scouts responded enthusiastically. Ms. O’Grady said a different girl and one of her parents usually take on the organization process for each holiday, and then the rest of the troop gets involved by decorating cards and putting together care packages. She said Anna will have easily put in more than 40 hours of work by the time the holiday packages are in the mail.
   "She’s been e-mailing everybody and she went out and purchased the supplies that were needed for the actual crafts," Ms. O’Grady said. "The other Scouts brought donations."
   Anna said dedicating her time to the project is rewarding.
   "It’s a lot of work planning, but when we get to the actual projects, it’s a lot of fun," she said. Since all the gifts are always addressed to individual soldiers, Ms. Coppotelli said the service men and women send e-mail asking her to thank each of the Girl Scouts.
   "It seems that that personal touch really helps with the morale," she said. "They know, ‘Hey, somebody was thinking about me, not just a faceless soldier in Iraq.’ And I think the girls really respond to that as well."
   Ms. Coppotelli said the plan is to include some cuttings from a pine tree in each package, so the soldiers can enjoy the smell of a real Christmas tree. But she said she hopes they can hang the ornaments on their own trees, here in the United States, next year. For now, she wants to do whatever she can to help them stay positive through the holiday season.
   "I know when these soldiers arrived and I had spoken with their first sergeant, he said this is the toughest rotation because they’re missing Halloween, they’re missing Thanksgiving, they’re missing Christmas and they’re missing New Years," she said. "It’s pretty challenging when they think of everything they’re missing, so to get something from home from somebody saying, ‘Good job, we’re thinking of you this season,’ I think it will mean a great deal to them."
   In addition to the gifts sent by the troop, Ms. Coppotelli said she also sends a care package every two weeks. She stays in correspondence with the soldiers through e-mail and sends them items they request. Some of the requests she’s gotten so far include water balloons, a dartboard, hard candy, toiletries and spiral notebooks.
   "Usually they’re just happy to get anything," she said. "What I have heard over and over is that it just makes such a difference to these men and women to know that people haven’t forgotten about them. It’s not just adults who are thinking of men and women over there, it’s kids too."
   Master Sgt. Ben Goss, a resident of Old Fort, North Carolina, who returned to the United States in May from a four-month rotation in Iraq, was in correspondence with Ms. Coppotelli during his time there. He said the Girl Scout troop sent chips and salsa to the service men and women during Super Bowl season, Valentine cards in February and homemade cookies often, just because. These gifts and more helped the soldiers tremendously, he said, especially since many of them are only 18 years old and away from home for the first time.
   "It actually started out kind of small and then it really bloomed up," Master Sgt. Goss, who is now stationed in Utah, said. "I had about 130 troops over there that I was responsible for. I can tell you, they reached out and touched every troop over there in some form or fashion in a positive way."
   Ms. Coppotelli, who was recently named 2005-2006 Volunteer of the Year by the East Windsor Area Girl Scouts organization for connecting the troop with the squadron in Iraq, said sending out items to the squadron sometimes feels like a full-time job, but she’s more than happy to do it.
   "It’s been so much fun," she said. "I have met the most extraordinary people. It’s just been a wonderful experience and probably one of the best things I’ve ever done."