Posted: 5/2/06
Students helping Iraqi kids by sending school supplies
340 pounds worth of school supplies heading overseas
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Joe Wiegrefe of La Crescent is looking forward to the day that he can drop off boxes of school supplies to Iraqi children.
It could happen soon, thanks to the generosity of local people and the efforts of three Caledonia High School students.
Danielle Frank, Katie Jambois, and Ellen Klug gathered 340 pounds of school supplies as part of a project for Family, Careers, and Community Leaders of America club.
They got the idea from Danielleís grandmother, Florence Frank of La Crescent. Florence in turn heard about it from Joe, her grandson who is stationed in Iraq.
Joe wrote to Grandma last Christmas telling her that soldiers were gathering donations of school supplies. Schools in Iraq are poor and not well funded, Joe said on April 26 while mailing the 19 boxes of goods to New York from the Caledonia Post Office.
Florence passed the word on to Danielle, who worked with Ellen and Katie on the project. They put out flyers and contacted school secretaries, who put notes in teachersí mailboxes.
They also received some cash donations from individuals, and a $200 check from the La Crescent American Legion, which helped pay for the $283.35 worth of postage.
The boxes contain school supplies, pants, shirts, soap, toothbrushes, and toys.
Katie said she was very happy with the results.
ìThe schools did really well,î Ellen added.
The supplies will be placed in a big storage container in Baghdad. The boxes are distributed about once every month or two, Wiegrefe said. They are taken to various schools and handed directly to kids or teachers.
Wiegrefe is a squad leader in a combat engineer company with the 1st Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division of the Army. He usually does combat patrols.
Handing out the school supplies will be a happy moment, he said. ìThen when you get a chance to interact with the people, do something good for them, they show a lot of appreciation in return.î
Caledoniaís effort was by far the best response he had seen in the project. ìThatís just awesome,î he said as he surveyed the boxes at the post office.
Florence Frank thought so too. ìI canít say enough good things about it,î she said as she watched her grandson, granddaughter, and the others lift boxes to the counter of the post office. She thinks it will make a difference in the lives of the Iraqi children, and will show the importance of education. ëIf we donít educate them, weíll have the same thing all over again,î Florence said. ìThis really hits home.î
Katie has a special connection with the project too. Her mother, Diane Bulman, was deployed to Iraq two weeks ago. She is a medic in the National Guard, and will be there until next March.
Joe is the son of Doug Wiegrefe and the late Barb Frank. He returned to Iraq on April 29 after a two week leave. His deployment will end in four months. Joe also served two tours in Afghanistan.
Caledonia Argus
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