A Card From Home: Local Troop Support Program Lets Soldiers Reach Loved Ones

‘They look like some of my friends…’

Those were roughly the words of Bronxville High School student Mike McManus back in 2008 when first confronted with pictures of young soldiers stationed at Camp Bucca in Iraq – named after former Tuckahoe Fire Marshal Ronald Bucca, who heroically lost his life on September 11^th, 2001 while saving people from the World Trade Center.

Inspired by some of the faces in those pictures, and looking for a community service opportunity he and his fellow Bronxville School Youth Council members could get involved in, McManus decided he needed to do his part.

Not long after, and with the help of former school librarian and current Tuckahoe Planning Board member Clare Gorman, McManus founded “Hearts to Home,” a troop support program which sends phone cards to military personnel serving overseas. The program’s first batch of cards – $8,000 worth in total – were sent to soldiers at Camp Bucca shortly before Valentine’s Day in 2008, allowing countless young service men and women to call and speak with their loved ones, a luxury not often afforded to them.

Since McManus’ graduation from Bronxville High School in 2010, the program has been handed down to current School Youth Council members, and even after Camp Bucca closed down last year continues to send 300-minute phone cards to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers receive the cards shortly before Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since 2008, Hearts to Home has sent out $100,000 worth of phone cards – and cherished conversations. 

Bronxville-Eastchester Patch is gathering local images of 9/11 and its aftermath. If you have images related to this day in our nation's history — whether it be a train ticket you were carrying in your pocket that day, a keepsake from a loved one or even a photo of where you were on 9/11, we'd like to include it in our gallery. We're also looking for people to interview who have a moving and engaging story to tell about Sept. 11. If you started a charity to help local 9/11 families or first responders, if you decided to become a police officer or joined the Armed Services because of 9/11, or if your life has been indelibly changed by the events of that day, we want to hear from you. Please email ed.boulat@patch.com if interested, and check back with us in early September for a full feature on Hearts to Home and other notable local 9/11 stories.