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Friday, June 29, 2007

Mail helps boost soldiers' morale

A communitywide effort to gather and send packages to the troops in Iraq will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Items can be dropped off at the County Market stores at 3709 Greenwood Road and 6363 Hearne Ave.
The event is coordinated by The Radio Group, with the help of County Market and the LSU Agriculture Center 4-H Youth Development program.
Maria Hancock, a receptionist at the Radio Group, has a son in Iraq. And it was through her son, Richard Hancock, that Maria learned about the many soldiers who — although they have family back home — don’t receive letters or any other kind of mail.
Others at Hancock’s job heard about the situation and decided to organize a project where they could collect items to send to the troops.
That’s how the communitywide project came into existence.
Sharon Flournoy, with the Radio Group, said instead of waiting until Christmas when other efforts like this take place, they decided to do theirs near the Fourth of July.
A list of items include DVDs, CDs, books, magazines, snacks, coffee, tea, sugar, combs, ponytail holders, hand sanitizers, items for first aid kits, shampoo, toilet paper and deodorant.
The troops also welcome letters and cards.
Items must be compact and able to withstand being packed in backpacks for extended periods of time.
For a longer list of items, go to www.anysoldier.com.
Flournoy has "adopted" one of the soldiers Hancock’s son mentioned and communicates with him on a regular basis.
"Just hearing from someone helps boost soldiers’ morale," Flournoy said.

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