SAYREVILLE — In just a few short words, the students of Samsel Upper Elementary School are learning how they can cheer up someone they’ve never met — and most likely will never meet.
Through Operation Adopt A Soldier, a Texas-based organization founded two years ago, about 400 Samsel students in grades 4-6 will “adopt” 23 soldiers who are currently stationed in the Middle East and will send them tokens of their thanks.
Each soldier adopted will receive a cardboard tube filled with a 24-by-36-inch fullcolor poster of appreciation signed by the students. In addition, the soldier will receive a personal letter on preprinted 5-by-7-inch postcards.
“It is not enough to teach a student how to write. It is more important to teach a student to write for a purpose in which they can see firsthand the impact their writing can have,” school Principal Edward Aguiles said .
OAAS Executive Director Kevin Held explained why instead of toiletries, his organization chose to send written notes.
“We just chose a little bit different approach. We thought we would go after more of a tribute honor instead of material things that can be disposed of in a few months or a few weeks,” Held said. “We thought it was a really neat approach to it,” he said.
Samsel teacher Donna MacDonald, who organized the project, spoke in a similar vein in explaining why it was important for the students.
She said the project is an attempt at “trying to get them to understand just how much people do give of themselves for the freedom that we have.”
With most if not all of the students having no memory of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, this is especially important because they have only read or heard about the attacks from family, friends or the media.
MacDonald also spoke to the anonymity aspect of the project.
“We support our troops, whether you believe in what they’re doing [or not]; you have to stand behind the people that are defending us, protecting us,” Macdonald said.
Aguiles agreed.
“When we make charitable donations, we sometimes don’t know who we directly help. That does not make the donation any less meaningful. When a student writes a note to a soldier they don’t know, and may never meet, they learn to reflect upon the fortunes they enjoy because of the sacrifices of others. That is why this project is so important.”
The cards, Macdonald said, really lift everyone’s morale.
“When they get these tubes, that makes their day,” she said.
“Their day, their week, their month, their year,” fourth-grade teacher Kathryn Moskal added.
Macdonald continued, “Whenever they’re feeling in need of reading something uplifting, they’ll pull out [the] postcards and it’ll put a smile on their face.”
For some of the students, too, the project holds extra meaning, because they have a father, brother or other family member currently serving in the armed forces
While OAAS is open to anyone who wants to participate — Held said church groups, among others, have expressed interest — the main body of participants will be students.
“Our primary focus is the students because they’re the leaders of tomorrow. They should be acknowledged and their voices should be heard,” Held said. Doing this at an early stage also helps instill good ideals about the military.
The postcards are important for the soldiers, Held said, because “it gives them a sense of purpose,” adding that the soldiers can feel that they aren’t forgotten despite being stationed so far away.
Nationwide, Held said, about 1,200 tubes have been sent off to schools. He is hoping to ship out the tubes to soldiers around Independence Day,
Held couldn’t be happier with the participation numbers so far.
“The kids are making this an unprecedented success,” he said.
This is not the first project Samsel School has undertaken to support the troops. Previously, students helped create about 400 quilt squares that were made into nine quilts for the Hugs From Home project, which was started because Vice Principal Bonnie Brady’s son was serving at the time.
The school sent the quilts to overseas personnel who were either Sayreville graduates or family members of Samsel School faculty.
Currently, students and teachers are also collecting various items to be shipped to soldiers in Iraq. Among the items needed for the servicemen and servicewomen are phone cards, toiletries, books and magazines, and hand warmers.