Giving soldiers some Christmas cheer

Holy Name of Mary School students have done their part to make the holidays a little brighter for troops overseas. The children wrote letters, made cards and decorated ornaments for the soldiers.

Jessica Yankey, of Fort Drum, N.Y., reached out to schools all across the country seeking items from students through the Family Readiness Program. Her husband is with the 23rd Military Police Company of the United States Army and serving his sixth combat tour in Iraq. Families of the soldiers try to do something special for them during each deployment. “They really appreciate just being remembered and thought of,” she said of the troops.

Yankey was at the school on Nov. 24 to accept the donation along with Sgt. Jose Morell and Staff Sgt. Erickson Thomas, Army recruiters based in Lynbrook. “We wanted to be able to thank those students personally for their efforts,” Yankey said.

Thomas said that the soldiers overseas will be really thankful. “Everything the kids do really boosts morale for the troops,” he said.

During the visit, the soldiers talked about how their mission in Iraq is less about combat and more about rebuilding the cities. Yankey noted that the families recently did a school supply drive for Iraqi children, with some of the soldiers even giving their own money to help. “Those are the things you don’t hear about but are important,” she said.

Holy Name of Mary Principal Rick McMahon said all 285 students in kindergarten through eighth-grade participated. He said the school always tries to do projects to help out its neighbors, even if those neighbors are thousands of miles away. “It helps show our kids what our mission is as a Catholic school,” McMahon said.

Reading teacher Fran Martini said she had her 50 students write letters to the troops. Before they got to work, she read them a book called “Letters to a Soldier” to give the children a little guidance.

Martini said she also shared some literature about Iraq with her reading students, so they would have an idea about what a soldier’s life is like there. “I just wanted to bring that back — the reality of what it is,” she said. “They learned about something new.”

The students were very excited to write the letters, Martini said, and each put a lot of effort into it. The project took about two weeks and several of the students also drew pictures. Martini also wrote the school’s address on several of the items going overseas. “They’re hoping the soldiers will write them back,” she said.

McMahon said he is grateful to his students and staff for all their efforts, and wants the school to do more for the troops in the future. “These guys are in need of us reaching out to them,” he said, “especially around the holidays.”