Friday, April 18, 2003
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Friday, April 18, 2003 |
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Providing treats for children of troops Operation Easter Basket organized at McIntosh HighBy MICHAEL
BOYLAN
While their fathers or mothers are off fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the children of soldiers at Ft. Benning, as well as several other armed service bases in Georgia, will receive Easter treats thanks to Operation Easter Basket. Cathy McMullen, a substitute teacher and former coach at McIntosh High School, approached students in the Beta Club and Key Club to help out with the program which stuffs Easter baskets that will be delivered to children at the elementary schools around Ft. Benning. Students quickly jumped on board, as did members of church groups and several local businesses. Other schools participating in the project were Kedron Elementary School and Holy Trinity Pre School. Papa John's Pizza donated pizza to the students who spent Tuesday and Wednesday evening filling baskets, while Party City in Fayetteville offered a 30 perent discount on the candy, prizes and supplies to make the baskets. Chick-fil-A provided coupons and their stuffed cows for older students who would be reciving baskets. Chick-fil-A was also a drop-off point for people wishing to donate treats for the baskets. Anthony Michael's hair salon was another drop-off point and offered customers $5 off their haircut if they dropped off some treats as well. The biggest and most important donation came from Crumpton's furniture, which provided their best truck and ther best driver to deliver the baskets to Fort Benning this morning. McMullen estimates that there are between 1,300 and 1,400 baskets making the trip, 140 of which were donated by a Christian group from Alabama who heard about the project on J93.3 FM. McMullen and several other volunteers will follow the truck down and deliver them to the schools in the area. Leftover baskets will be brought to other bases in the state. "We're going to make a lot of kids happy this weekend, during what can be a very tough time for them emotionally," said McMullen. "The community has really come together to help out. This is a way for everyone to contribute."
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