Students Make Christmas Cards for Injured Soldiers

Allyson Mrozek (from left), Daeshawna Nye, and James Lindberg work on cutting and assembling holiday cards for soldiers Friday, December 14, to get the cards out in time for Christmas.

Les Cheneaux Elementary students learned computer skills, and how the simple act of sending cards can be meaningful to recovering soldiers who receive them.

The students made the holiday cards with teacher Julie Davis and teaching intern Casey Zimmerman, who led them through a computer publishing program. The cards contain hand-written messages to soldiers. Most of the messages wish the soldiers happy holidays, a speedy recovery, and thank them for protecting the United States by fighting in the military.

The exercise brought home the subject of those in the military service, and how an injured soldier could be anyone's son, father, sister, or cousin.

As the fourth grade worked on cards, for example, students chatted about the people they know who are serving in the military. Allyson Mrozek has a cousin in the United States Marines who is heading to boot camp. "He is going to protect the President of the United States," she said. Other students said they have relatives in the military. One student has a brother serving in Iraq.

Annie Eberts wrote in her card, "Thank you for being so brave for fighting for our country."

In addition to these cards, Kathy Tassier's fifth grade class made holiday cards for Private Joseph Johnson, the son of Cherl Johnson, a part-time custodian at the school. He is stationed in Iraq, and his mother said he would really appreciate getting mail from someone other than his mother and grandparents.

United States military branches encourage people to send mail to soldiers, in fact, because notes from people other than family provide encouragement and comfort, and demonstrate support from the American public.

The cards to the recovering soldiers will be delivered to the Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., by the American Red Cross. The Red Cross is collecting, reviewing, and delivering holiday cards to any soldiers who are not specifically addressed on the envelope.

Since 2001, it has been the policy of military hospitals to return all pieces of mail that are not addressed to a particular soldier, or are addressed "to any soldier," because of security concerns from the terrorists attacks that year. Since the Red Cross took over checking the mail, cards like those made by the Les Cheneaux students will not be returned unopened this year.

Since the Red Cross announced its program the first week of December, about 35,000 pieces of mail were sent, and will be distributed to Walter Reed and 30 military hospitals across the country, as well as Red Cross offices in combat zones overseas, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and a regional military medical center in Germany, said Joe Moffatt of the American Red Cross.

This year, the program will stop after the holiday season, but Red Cross officials say they will evaluate the success of the program to see if it will be continued in coming years.

Les Cheneaux students are joining card writers from universities, military units, girls and boys organizations, other elementary schools, and corporations, Red Cross officials said.