One of the most rewarding groups that I have ever had the opportunity of working with are the Junior Civitans. These kids vary in age from eleven to fourteen. They have yet to earn a drivers license, pay taxes or vote and they have to ask permission just to leave the house, but they are making more of a difference in their community than many people twice their age. These kids organize and participate in school-wide service projects all year long. They work tirelessly in a yearly canned food drive to help replenish the local food pantry in town, they collect toys to donate to toys for tots every Christmas and they help pick up trash on school grounds and around the neighborhood. Their enthusiasm, positive attitudes and energy levels never cease to amaze me.
The Jr. Civs are extremely excited about their current service project which involves creating care packages for deployed marines. This is especially important to them as many of their parents are currently serving in the armed forces and many have family members that are deployed right now. Our group adopted a unit that just recently left for Afghanistan. The kids obtained a wish list of items that these marines would appreciate. Their requests were very basic and simple: toiletries, pens, instant coffee, snacks, magazines, etc. I looked at their humble list and thought “Wow, we can do this.”
I wanted to help my kids jump start their campaign so I announced the project to each of my classes. I wasn’t expecting much, maybe a half hearted response at best. To my surprise I had an adorable sixth grader drag two huge bags of donations to my classroom yesterday. She told me that her Daddy really liked getting care packages when he was deployed so her family went out over the weekend and got all of this stuff to help someone else. Now I don’t know her Daddy or her Mommy for that matter, but I like them already. My Jr. Civs members were delighted! They set about boxing up the items and discussed what else they could add. They began making thank you cards for the marines and telling them why they are so grateful for their service.
Their project got me thinking about what I would say to the marines in that unit if I got the chance. So I figured for this week’s pay it forward project, I’d do just that. Thank a marine. Here’s what my card says:
Dear Marine,
Thank you so much for the incredible job that you do!
Thank you for sacrificing so much for someone like me that you don’t even know.
Thank you for doing your job even though that means leaving the common comforts of home on a regular basis.
Thank you for withstanding hours upon hours of loneliness, isolation and separation so that my family can enjoy the simple luxury of being together.
Thank you for missing milestones in your children’s lives so that all our kids can live in a world of infinite opportunities.
Thank you for enduring physical and psychological pain that I could never understand or bear.
Because of you, I sleep easy.
Because of you, I have the opportunity to enjoy my life in a country that I love.
Because of you, I know my children have a secure and bright future.
Because of you, I know freedoms that many women only dream of.
Because of your sacrifices, your strength and your commitment, I have hope.
So keep doing what you are doing marine. You will always have someone praying for you back here in Havelock. May God bless and keep you. Stay safe and strong.
Laurie
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