NEW SALEM — It can be easy to take simple pleasures for granted. Tiny luxuries like granola bars, chewing gum and soft toilet paper are accessible for most people in the United States.
But to military personnel stationed in the Middle East, these items can brighten a day. That’s why members of the Swift River School Student Council spent a couple of hours on Friday to assemble care packages with those items to mail to men and women serving in Iraq.
Tammy Richard, a paraprofessional at Swift River, has a son serving outside Mosul, Iraq, and pitched the idea to the student council.
“We’re just trying to send (service members) a box of some treats,” she said in the school’s cafeteria, while roughly a dozen students zipped around like bees to put together 15 packages.
The students assembled each “little box of sunshine,” with every package labeled with those four words written on yellow construction paper on their flaps. The youngsters made sure to cram as many goodies as possible into each box. The treats also included chips, microwavable food and candy. After finishing the packaging, the students helped load the boxes into Richard’s car.
Aliyah Santana, 12, said she had fun assembling the care packages, which will each include a little note.
“It’s good to give back,” the sixth-grader said.
Richard said she was also going to send along boxes of DVDs.
She said several local businesses, organizations and school clubs donated money and she purchased the items locally. She said the student council also held a “spirit day” and collected donations.
You can reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com
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On Twitter: @DomenicPoli