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Story and photos by Laura Perkins Cox
For the second year in a row, the St. Joseph Catholic School 4th grade Junior Girl Scouts of Troop 2082 have held a school supply drive benefiting Iraqi and Afghan schoolchildren.
Pencils 4 Peace began with a touching story Sgt. Martin Morales of the US Army’s 345th Psy Ops Unit told the scouts during an April 2007 cookie delivery visit. The 345th’s soldiers visit tiny hamlets and orphanages in Afghanistan, bringing small gifts and candy with them for the children. But Sgt. Morales said that, “those kids didn’t care about the candy. They wanted our pencils and notepads.”
Girl Scout Sofia Short wondered why. Sgt Morales explained to her, “it’s because the only school supplies they have is what they get from us. If they don’t have paper and pencils, they don’t go to school.”
In 2007, the scouts collected almost 2000 pencils, 1000 pens, 40 packages of map pencils, 288 memo pads, 300 hackysacks, and 17 packs of index cards.
This year, the soldiers asked the girl scouts to do it again. The entire unit would be deploying soon, so the drive had to be done on a compressed schedule to accommodate that deployment schedule. The scouts got busy on the very first day of school making posters and reaching out to donors. A story in the Garland News jump-started the donations, and the community responded.
Through the generosity of the St. Joseph parish and school family, local businesses, and other community donors, the Girl Scouts collected nearly 2800 pencils, 600 pens, 60 packets of map pencils, 500 spiral notebooks, 160 packages of notebook paper, and 300 hackysacks for the impoverished children in war-torn parts of Iraq and Afghanistan. The Girl Scouts delivered the supplies to the 345th Psy Ops unit headquarters in Lake Highlands on the 14th of September. The scouts would especially like to thank members of the St. Joseph parish and school community, who gave so gladly and in such great numbers. Other generous supporters include Mark Ziegler of Downtown Garland’s Corner Pocket, who hosted a donation box that his customers repeatedly filled. Walgreen’s management at 4201 E. Renner Rd. in Richardson donated not just school supplies but socks and ponytail holders as well. Customers of Preston Edward’s barber shop on Centerville Rd. in Garland filled a piggy bank with enough cash to buy 100 hackysacks for Iraqi children. The Heart to Heart Sunday School class from ArapahoRoadBaptistChurch collected over 700 pens and pencils, plus several dozen spiral notebooks for the drive. The generosity of Pencils 4 Peace donors supports an important peace mission of the US Army, while ensuring that desperately poor children in war-torn countries can go to school. The Juniors of Troop 2082 pray that God will bless you all for your support of Pencils 4 Peace.
PHOTO LIST for Pencils 4 Peace 2008 story
Photos by Laura Perkins Cox
16 Sep 2008 006 -- A soldier from the 345th Psy Ops Unit helps JGS Sofia Short unload a minivan filled with donations for Pencils 4 Peace at the 345th Psy Ops Unit HQ as Steve Cox looks on
16 Sep 008 008 – A soldier from the 345th Psy Ops Unit hands JGS Rachel Davidson of Garland a box of Pencils 4 Peace donations as Steve Cox looks on
16 Sep 2008 009 -- JGS Rachel Davidson of Garland carried a box of donated school supplies to a baggage cart at the 345th Psy Ops Unit headquarters
16 Sep 2008 013 -- Steve Cox hands JGS Miranda Cox an armload donated school supplies
16 Sep 2008 016 -- Junior Girl Scouts Miranda Cox and Sofia Short put the last box of donated Pencils 4 Peace supplies high on top of the baggage cart
16 Sep 2008 017 -- Junior Girl Scouts Miranda Cox, Rachel Davidson, and Sofia Short help a soldier guide the loaded cart of school supplies for Iraqi and Afghan children to a temporary storage area, until the soldiers load the supplies on pallets and ship them overseas.
