A few weeks ago, I shared a crazy idea with my husband. It was one night during my Thanksgiving break, so I could actually stay up and watch TV for a little while after Charlotte went to bed; when school is in I usually follow her 7:30 bedtime by about 10 minutes. We were sitting in the living room watching TV and I turned to him and said, "I want to do a community service project with my kids for the holidays." To his credit, he didn't laugh at me. I could see it cross his mind though, and I can't really blame him. My students have a lot of good qualities, but they're still teenagers, and like every other teenager in America, they mentally check out from Thanksgiving until about...January. The three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are, for teacher and student alike, mostly a formality.
I wanted--needed, really--to try and see my idea to fruition. When the thought of a service project first took seed, I went through all the usual holiday charities: Toys for Tots, Angel Tree, canned goods for this organization or that, and though they are all wonderful causes, nothing really hit home for me. Then I remembered that last year, my mother-in-law had found an organization that sends cookies to soldiers who are deployed overseas, and I thought, "Military school...project to benefit soldiers....can't go wrong!" We pay so much attention to the people on our own soil who are struggling, and this year has seemed especially rough for so many families. But what about those men and women who don't even get to see their families during the holidays (or any other day, for that matter)? I sometimes take for granted that I can walk into the next room and see my daughter smile, but there are thousands of men and women who have volunteered their time and place their lives in danger on a daily basis just so I have freedom to see my daughter whenever I want--and THEY don't get to see THEIR children, or wives, or mothers, or fathers, or brothers, or sisters, and it doesn't seem fair.
So on the first day back to school from Thanksgiving, I contacted a woman with an organization called Treats for Troops, which sends care packages with toiletries and home-baked cookies to military personnel who are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan in remote areas. If we would put the packages together, she would pick them up care packages and see them mailed. I wrote a letter to send home with my kids that explained my idea: I asked them to donate the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies, along with small personal toiletry items such as toothpaste, deodorant, soap, etc. I gave them two dates--December 15th and 16th--and a room number--the culinary arts classroom at Bartow High School--and told them to be there after school on those two days to bake cookies with me. I crossed my fingers and sat back to wait.
I'll be honest; my hopes weren't all that high. And I don't mean that to be disparaging toward my students, because I have seen leadership and teamwork and compassion in droves since I started working at Summerlin Academy. I just know that many of them have trouble remembering homework, so I wasn't sure they'd remember to buy and bring in flour and sugar. I know that today's teenagers often expect something in return for an action or behavior, and I refused to offer extra credit for bringing in supplies or helping out. I know that many families are too strapped to buy presents for their own children and loved ones, yet I was asking them to spend extra money on items that I planned to send off to someone I don't even know. I know that so many of them (myself included!) are so ready for Christmas Break that the last thing then wanted to do was come in and bake cookies with their teacher for two days after school on their own time. I knew all that, but I decided to try anyway.
I am so proud, and humbled, to say that I was proven wrong on every count. Those kids blew me away.
They brought in supplies by the bag and boxful. Bars of soap, sticks of deodorant, bottles of shampoo and shower gel, toothpaste, toothbrushes, baby wipes, pens, envelopes, greeting cards--my classroom looked like the personal care department in a drugstore. We take so many things for granted on a daily basis, like a hot shower or a bar of soap, that the troops who are deployed in remote areas of the Middle East may not see for months. Many of them live hours away from the nearest military base, and make do with whatever supplies are delivered to them, whenever they are delivered. Through the generosity of my students, we were able to put together about 25 care packages--gallon size Ziploc bags filled to the top with these essential everyday items.
In addition to the toiletries, cadets brought in bags of flour, sugar, chocolate chips. The BHS principal and his wife donated butter, eggs, and hours of babysitting. The culinary arts teacher graciously allowed us the use of her classroom and equipment. On the two pre-appointed days, about thirty kids showed up to bake cookies, and some stayed from after school until about 6 o'clock to measure, mix, bake, and bag (and occasionally taste-test) close to one thousand chocolate chip and sugar cookies. That's 83 dozen cookies. That's a LOT of cookies!
It might be a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands of men and women who are deployed overseas. I can't help marveling, though, at the generosity showed by these kids, at a time of year when most young people, and not a few older ones, are busy thinking about what they want from Santa. I am so proud of them, and at the risk of sounding saccharine, (I will not call it "the true meaning of Christmas") I think this kind of service adds an element to this time of year that makes it more fulfilling. So often you sit there in an ocean of shredded wrapping paper and torn bows and moderately thoughtful gifts and just feel empty. After the presents are opened and the eggnog drunk, then what? You go back to life, and it's just another day to mark off on the calendar. After days like today, however, I don't feel empty; I feel full of joy and pride in the young men and women that I have the privilege of teaching. If the efforts of the cadets make a few men and women smile, or allow a soldier to enjoy a home-baked cookie, then it's been worth it. I don't know if the kids see it that way, but I do.
Next year, get ready...I'm taking on the whole campus and making this a school-wide effort! Until then...Happy Holidays and a Blessed New Year!
For more information, go to http://www.treatsfortroops.info/.
