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Holiday collection pours in

Be careful what you wish for: holiday drive for soldiers was so successful, the sponsor needs help with the shipping

By CATHY DYSON

Date published: 11/17/2004

By CATHY DYSON Help needed to ship stuff to troops

People contributed so much stuff to a holiday collection drive for soldiers, sponsored by Shanna Walker, that she'll have to take out a loan to cover the shipping charges.

Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but Walker certainly was amazed by the volume of items donated for the troops.

"I wasn't expecting this much stuff," she said this week.

The Stafford County woman is a platoon mother with the AdoptaPlatoon Soldier Support Effort. She sends items to her adopted soldier every month, and her efforts were featured in a Nov. 7 Life story in The Free Lance-Star.

Also in that article, Walker mentioned her goal to collect enough holiday goodies for 150 men and women. So, she set up boxes at the Giant and Wal-Mart in North Stafford--and then started loading up her Honda CR-V.

She folded the seats down and filled up the sport utility vehicle--twice--with donated cases of diaper wipes, cans of ravioli and boxes of hot cocoa mix. A friend also hauled away several loads, including items from Brooke Point High School.

The school's Family, Career and Community Leaders of America club sponsored the drive. Students brought in bars of soap, bags of candy and bottles of shampoo.

They collected 140 tubes of toothpaste. Students also wrote greetings on 100 holiday memos and donated 41 Beanie babies in the name of good will, said teacher Katrina Fogelson. Soldiers regularly give out the stuffed animals to Iraqi children as they patrol the streets.

Walker brought all the items to her house over the weekend and filled up a room in her basement. She quickly realized she needed more boxes--and help covering the shipping charges.

She's asking local veterans' groups to help with the shipping, which costs about 50 cents a pound. She's also taking donations through her post-office box (Box 77, Brooke, Va. 22430). Any money left over from this project will be used for her Valentine's Day package for troops, she said.

In the meantime, Walker will be busy boxing up candy canes, writing paper and magazines. She knows the packages will bring good cheer to soldiers, especially whoever gets the felt-covered headband with antlers.

"That's my favorite thing so far," Walker said.

To reach CATHY DYSON: 540/374-5425 cdyson@freelancestar.com

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Date published: 11/17/2004