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Making a happier ‘Holiday for Heroes’

By Faith Headlee, For The Greene County Messenger 5 min read
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Students from Carmichaels Elementary and Bobtown Elementary schools recently made handcrafted Christmas cards that will be sent to soldiers serving overseas as part of the American Red Cross’ Holiday for Heroes program. Pictured with Carmichaels students are Principal Fred Morecraft (back row on left) and Frank Jeffries (back row on right).

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Pictured with students from Bobtown Elementary School participating in the Holiday for Heroes program are Principal Rick Menear (pictured far left) and Jeffries (far right).

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Students from Carmichaels Elementary and Bobtown Elementary schools made Christmas cards that were sent to soldiers as part of the American Red Cross’ Holiday for Heroes program. Pictured with Carmichaels students are Principal Fred Morecraft (back left) and Frank Jeffries (back right).

As the stores are flooded with last-minute shoppers with the holidays fast approaching, the students from Carmichaels Elementary and Bobtown Elementary schools can rest easy, knowing that the gifts they crafted have already been shipped.

Before their families were thinking of stuffing turkeys, the students participated in the American Red Cross’ Holiday for Heroes programs, in which handcrafted cards were sent overseas to soldiers serving in combat zones outside the United States. Between the two schools, more than 700 cards were created and will brighten the holidays for soldiers who cannot be with their families this year.

The project was coordinated by Frank Jeffries, committee member of Columbia Pipeline Group’s IDEA North 3 Team. The idea of working with elementary students to reach out to soldiers blossomed last year when Jeffries was searching for ways to get involved with the community, as part of his work with the IDEA North 3 Team.

When he discovered the American Red Cross’ Holiday for Heroes program, he contacted his nephew, Fred Morecraft, who was a sixth grade teacher at Carmichaels Elementary School at the time. Morecraft, a veteran of the 103rd Armor Battalion in Connellsville, not only had his own class get involved, he shared the project with the whole school to make 400 cards.

Last year, the project had a late start; the cards could not be sent overseas and instead were given to local barracks. This year, the cards were collected by the Red Cross by Nov. 16, ensuring that they could be sent overseas to soldiers in combat zones.

Morecraft, now the principal at Carmichaels Elementary School, was eager to participate in the Holidays for Heroes program for the second year in a row. As a veteran, Morecraft admitted, “it’s something that hits home for me.”

The project has proved to be a positive experience for the children at Carmichaels Elementary School as well. Morecraft noted that the kids not only enjoyed working on the cards, they seemed to develop a greater appreciation for soldiers and veterans as they focused their time and thoughts on them.

For the soldiers too, Morecraft believes this will have a great impact.

“It’s such a big deal to get cards during the holidays,” Morecraft said. “Just knowing that someone is thinking of them … they will appreciate it.”

“Frank deserves all the credit, it was his idea,” Morecraft noted, adding that he was grateful that the kids could be involved. “He did a fantastic job of getting the kids to think about the soldiers and what they’re doing.”

Carmichaels Area School District Superintendent John Menhart likewise agreed that the Holiday for Heroes Program is one that should be continued in future years for Carmichaels.

“They want heroes,” Menhart said. “Who’s a better role model than the people who risk their lives for us?”

This is not the first program that the Carmichaels Area School District had participated in to honor the veterans this year. On Veterans Day, the students invited veteran family members to lunch to honor their service. A total of 90 to 95 veterans attended.

“It was a great turnout for the first year,” Menhart said.

Though Carmichaels has experience with the Holidays for Heroes program, this year was the first for Bobtown Elementary School as Principal Rick Menear worked with Frank Jeffries to get the school involved with the program. Though new to the program, Southeastern Greene Superintendent Rich Pekar has no doubt that it is a program the school will participate in again in the years to come.

Before the students began working on their cards, Mrs. Mlay, the art and library teacher at Bobtown Elementary School, read a book about military members and veterans to students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Afterward, each child made one holiday card to be sent to a soldier or veteran.

Pekar noted that the program was a great one to have the students involved with because it allowed the children to better “understand the sacrifices men and women who serve in the military make to provide our freedom, which we often take for granted.”

This is the second event this year at the school that honored veterans, as a Veterans Day breakfast was held on Nov. 10, where the students were able to invite friends or family members who were veterans to share a meal and to recognize their service.

Jeffries said he hopes to see the Holidays for Heroes program grow even more next year.

“I want to get all the Greene County schools involved,” Jeffries said.

Those who wish to help out with the program in the future may contact Jeffries at 724-943-4235.

The cards, though a simple gesture, have the power to show respect and appreciation to those who deserve it most, which is a lesson the Holidays for Heroes program taught to students at Carmichaels and Bobtown elementary schools.

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