I am posting a list of items for our troops with a note from Pam Rossi, Biology teacher in our high school.  This is not mandatory please just do what you can, anything you send will be greatly appreciated.  My son has been deployed twice and says anything from home is always a morale booster and makes for a little better day.  Theresa Edwards

Dear GWA family,

     I am writing to ask for your assistance with a school-wide project; preparing care packages for two Army engineer companies recently deployed to Afghanistan.  My connection to the units is that my son, John (a 2004 GWA graduate), is the rear detachment company commander for the two companies.  That means he will handle all of the problems and issues that arise stateside for these guys while they serve 9-month tours in the country.  The companies are the 40th MAC and the 595th Sapper from White Sands Missile Range, NM.  The two companies are in different regions of Afghanistan, but both are performing Route Clearance missions, clearing roads of IED's, booby traps and mines, so others can travel the roads safely.  The 40th MAC is the unit John previously deployed with as a Platoon Leader. 

Pam Rossi

Categories for care packages for the troops

Fun and Games: Puzzle books, word finds, cards, small board games (travel size), cards, poker chips, dice, dominoes

Reading ready: paperbacks, magazines, newspapers, (do not have to be new, just current)

Personally yours: (taken by NHS) Toiletries of all sorts from deodorant to toothbrushes, including foot & baby powder

Feed me: one box could be all salty snacks, another could be all sweet, individually wrapped hard candy and cookies; then protein bars, trail mix, beef jerky, pop tarts.  They should all be individually wrapped and personal size.  Obviously foods cannot be homemade or out of manufacture wrapper    

Feed me too: some of the more hardy foods to supplement rations in the field,  ramen noodles, dry soup mix, tuna in foil pouches, microwave food such as Mac’n Cheese (snack for when back at base)

Liquid refreshment: Individual servings of powdered drinks for water bottles, such as lemonade, Gatorade, Crystal light, Gatorade, Propel… anything like that.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness:  laundry detergent, air fresheners, baby wipes, hand sanitizers, tissues, soap, body wash

Movie night: DVDs (used is fine) the more current the better, plus popcorn

Worldly pleasures: hand warmers, disposable cameras, batteries (AAA, AA, C), pens & pencils, music CD’s, small battery operated fan, bug repellent, flash drives, thumb drives, writable CD’s

Sports stuff:  Nerf footballs, Frisbees, Whiffle balls, tennis balls, hackey sacks, sports equipment, yo-yos

Here’s to your health : Tylenol, Motrin, Advil, moleskin, shoe insole cushions, Tums, Rolaids, sinus stuff, Chapstick, Blistex, sun screen, vitamins, icy hot patches, cough drops, lozenges

Miscellaneous mixture: Koozies for cans, paper plates, small flashlights, big Ziploc bags for storing things out of the weather, duct tape (black or green), small battery or wind up alarm clocks, inflatable pillows, thumb tacks