Valentines, Care Packages to go to Troops

Students at St. Rose, Sandy Hook and other schools helped write the letters to the troops, and then on Friday, Feb. 12, they helped send them out as part of care packages bound for several countries around the world.

With only three days until Valentine's Day, the Valentines for Troops program enlisted the help of the students to place the required number of stamps and customs forms onto the overseas care packages.

Each package contained about 30 letters along with items such as donated soap, shampoo, basic toiletries and more packed in the flat-rate box.

“Make sure every box has 13 stamps,” one of the program coordinators Barbara Sibley instructed the children at Sandy Hook School Friday afternoon.

Also present was Mark Favale of the Hawleyville post office, who was on hand to take the boxes and ship them

This is the sixth year the program has been in operation, though it has expanded since its infancy.

It started off when now retired Sandy Hook School teacher Carole MacInnes began talking to Donna Monteleone Randle about finding an audience for the second graders, who were just learning how to write.

The two agreed the troops would be  more than happy to be recipients of letters from second graders.

Since then, the program has grown in leaps and bounds and now includes participation from corporate sponsors who donate the assortment of complimentary items.

Randle and other volunteers said schools as well as girl scout troops and other community organizations are participating in the program helping to write the letters as well as help prepare the boxes for the mailbox.

For more information, contact Randle at ndrandle@charter.net.