While their

fathers or mothers are off fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the children

of soldiers at Ft. Benning, as well as several other armed service bases

in Georgia, will receive Easter treats thanks to Operation Easter Basket.

Cathy McMullen,

a substitute teacher and former coach at McIntosh High School, approached

students in the Beta Club and Key Club to help out with the program which

stuffs Easter baskets that will be delivered to children at the elementary

schools around Ft. Benning. Students quickly jumped on board, as did members

of church groups and several local businesses.

Other schools

participating in the project were Kedron Elementary School and Holy Trinity

Pre School.

Papa John's

Pizza donated pizza to the students who spent Tuesday and Wednesday evening

filling baskets, while Party City in Fayetteville offered a 30 perent

discount on the candy, prizes and supplies to make the baskets.

Chick-fil-A

provided coupons and their stuffed cows for older students who would be

reciving baskets. Chick-fil-A was also a drop-off point for people wishing

to donate treats for the baskets. Anthony Michael's hair salon was another

drop-off point and offered customers $5 off their haircut if they dropped

off some treats as well. The biggest and most important donation came

from Crumpton's furniture, which provided their best truck and ther best

driver to deliver the baskets to Fort Benning this morning.

McMullen estimates

that there are between 1,300 and 1,400 baskets making the trip, 140 of

which were donated by a Christian group from Alabama who heard about the

project on J93.3 FM. McMullen and several other volunteers will follow

the truck down and deliver them to the schools in the area. Leftover baskets

will be brought to other bases in the state.

"We're

going to make a lot of kids happy this weekend, during what can be a very

tough time for them emotionally," said McMullen. "The community

has really come together to help out. This is a way for everyone to contribute."

Back

to News Home Page | Back

to the top of the page