AUBURN - Reggie Weller is collecting cell phones and DVDs to help the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
Reggie Weller sits in her Auburn home with a photograph of her son, Spc. Scott Weller, who is deployed in Iraq with the Army. Weller has been collecting used cellular phones for Operation Gratitude, an organization that sends care packages to troops stationed overseas.
Reggie Weller sits in her Auburn home with a photograph of her son, Spc. Scott Weller, who is deployed in Iraq with the Army. Weller has been collecting used cellular phones for Operation Gratitude, an organization that sends care packages to troops stationed overseas.
Her son, Scott, has been stationed with the 225 Stryker Brigade Combat Team since last year.
“I started sending packages to my son last Christmas,” said Reggie, who is a registered nurse at Auburn Memorial Hospital. “Then a Girl Scout troop made and filled some stockings, so I sent them to Michael Gunnip, my boss's son, who was also in Iraq. The staff at the hospital contributed some other gifts and money for postage.”
When Reggie was at a deli buying a sandwich, she saw a box requesting donations of used cell phones to support the troops. She liked the idea, but when she went back there at a different time, the box was gone. She researched similar projects online and discovered Operation Gratitude.
Operation Gratitude was founded to boost the morale of the men and women serving in the armed forces overseas, especially those in the combat zones of the Middle East. This project provides civilians an opportunity to contribute to that cause. The organization sends used cell phones to a recycling center that pays for them. The money raised is then used to cover the cost of the packages of other items sent to the troops.
Reggie learned that many soldiers in most companies have “sharing tables,” where they place items they don't want or don't need.
Other soldiers then take from the table by leaving something in exchange. She now collects items for her son to leave.
“I've put up signs asking for cell phones, CDs and DVDs,” she said. “I've got some ready to go now. I think about the poor soldiers who don't get much mail or don't have much money, especially during the holidays. It would be great if the people in the area thought about them, too.”
Scott Weller arrived in Iraq on Christmas morning 2007, and he will be there again this Christmas. His 15-month tour ends in March 2009. Reggie said he just celebrated his 28th birthday there, too. The temperature often goes between 110 and 120 degrees, and cools down into the 90s at night.
“He never sees rain,” Reggie said. “And there is a lot of dust. The soldiers wear hot uniforms and carry heavy gear. They drink water in and sweat it right back out.”
The unit to which Scott belongs was organized in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, two months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
They fought in the Pacific Theater during World War II, where they earned the nickname “Tropic Lightning.” The unit again saw combat in Korea and Vietnam, and in 2004, they were deployed to Iraq.
Reggie has visited her son in Hawaii twice, and is looking forward to seeing him there again next spring. And, like all mothers, she will worry about his safety until then.
“As the mother of a soldier,” she said “you always have your cell phone with you.”
“I started sending packages to my son last Christmas,” said Reggie, who is a registered nurse at Auburn Memorial Hospital. “Then a Girl Scout troop made and filled some stockings, so I sent them to Michael Gunnip, my boss's son, who was also in Iraq. The staff at the hospital contributed some other gifts and money for postage.”
When Reggie was at a deli buying a sandwich, she saw a box requesting donations of used cell phones to support the troops. She liked the idea, but when she went back there at a different time, the box was gone. She researched similar projects online and discovered Operation Gratitude.
Operation Gratitude was founded to boost the morale of the men and women serving in the armed forces overseas, especially those in the combat zones of the Middle East. This project provides civilians an opportunity to contribute to that cause. The organization sends used cell phones to a recycling center that pays for them. The money raised is then used to cover the cost of the packages of other items sent to the troops.
Reggie learned that many soldiers in most companies have “sharing tables,” where they place items they don't want or don't need.
Other soldiers then take from the table by leaving something in exchange. She now collects items for her son to leave.
“I've put up signs asking for cell phones, CDs and DVDs,” she said. “I've got some ready to go now. I think about the poor soldiers who don't get much mail or don't have much money, especially during the holidays. It would be great if the people in the area thought about them, too.”
Scott Weller arrived in Iraq on Christmas morning 2007, and he will be there again this Christmas. His 15-month tour ends in March 2009. Reggie said he just celebrated his 28th birthday there, too. The temperature often goes between 110 and 120 degrees, and cools down into the 90s at night.
“He never sees rain,” Reggie said. “And there is a lot of dust. The soldiers wear hot uniforms and carry heavy gear. They drink water in and sweat it right back out.”
The unit to which Scott belongs was organized in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, two months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
They fought in the Pacific Theater during World War II, where they earned the nickname “Tropic Lightning.” The unit again saw combat in Korea and Vietnam, and in 2004, they were deployed to Iraq.
Reggie has visited her son in Hawaii twice, and is looking forward to seeing him there again next spring. And, like all mothers, she will worry about his safety until then.
“As the mother of a soldier,” she said “you always have your cell phone with you.”
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Brian33908 wrote on Oct 6, 2008 1:32 PM: