| Earlier this month students from St. Raphael School in Garden City undertook a similar effort. These fourth, fifth and sixth-graders collected more than 200 pounds of school supplies like pens, pencils, crayons and folders to send to kids in kids in Iraq:
"We wanted to do something to teach the students to reach out and make them more globally aware," said fourth-/fifth-grade teacher Barb Dyke.
The supplies are being sent to Dyke's brother-in-law, Army SFC John Richardson, who will distribute the items to students and teachers in Baghdad. Richardson was deployed to Iraq just before the start of the school year and Dyke's class adopted him. He's been sending e-mails about the humanitarian work being done with the schools in Baghdad and has also sent photos showing the condition of the schools.
That led to the collection drive which also brought in donations of toiletries for the troops.
 Unfortunately, the students at St. Raphael had drastically underestimated the expense of shipping these items to Iraq.
Not knowing how they would get the boxes to Iraq, they called state Sen. Glenn Anderson for help. He in turn called longtime friend Gary Langston, Government Relations Manager with UPS.
"It's pretty amazing what you've done," he told the students who staged a small patriotic ceremony before they helped load packages on a cart destined for UPS driver Rick Wheeler's truck. "It would be great if every school followed your lead and let the soldiers know we care about them."
I played a very small part in this effort-these students and their teachers deserve all the credit for taking the initiative to send these items to other kids and soldiers in Iraq. But just like what the Blogging for Michigan community is trying to do with Troop Care, it's always a pleasure to see my fellow Michiganders doing whatever they can to support our men and women in uniform, especially during the holidays.
As citizens, we are forever indebted to military veterans for serving our state and our country abroad in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unfortunately, these soldiers will face many obstacles as they return to Michigan, resume their lives and reenter the workforce. That's why I've been supporting a 32-bill bipartisan package this fall to ease this transition and create opportunities for our veterans to build a better future.
The package would allow returning Michigan soldiers to participate in a post-traumatic stress disorder program to aid their transition back to civilian life. It also establishes a Disabled Veterans Tuition Assistance Program that would provide disabled vets with a tuition grant for a public university, based on the severity of their disability.
Other bills in the package would:
- Establish a "Michigan Patriot Business" designation or companies with at least 50 percent ownership by an active service member or veteran of the Iraq or Afghanistan conflicts, which would then be promoted on the MEDC's website;
- Allow children of active military personnel who are transferred out-of-state to retain their in-state residency status for determining college tuition;
- Permit spouses and children of an armed forces member stationed in Michigan to be considered a resident when determining college tuition;
- Require public schools to provide excused absences to students participating in an event for their parents who are departing for active duty or returning from active duty;
- Prohibit the lapse of life insurance policies for active duty military personnel;
- Safeguard the property of military personnel from sale or foreclosure while they are serving and for six months after they return from active duty.
This package is truly comprehensive, as it takes into account the sacrifices that the children and spouses of our servicemen and women also have to make. A number of bills in the plan have already passed, but there is still more work to be done.
I plan to continue fighting for our veterans here in the Michigan Senate, and I hope your readers will continue showing what it means to really support the troops this Holiday Season, and beyond.
This is a Blogging For Michigan Troop Care post. From November 11 through November 25, 2007, Blogging For Michigan will use 100% of every dollar received in the Troop Care fund to purchase and ship items to Michigan troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Learn more about BFM Troop Care here. Click here to contribute to Troop Care. Contributions are not tax deductible. |
Michigan's military veterans have served with honor and distinction in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. After suffering through the stress, distance from family and friends, and daily danger that military combat entails, our veterans deserve all the support and assistance they need to return to their daily lives back here in Michigan.
