Students show soldiers overseas how much they care

A letter arrived earlier this month at Greenbrier Elementary School in Arlington Heights, direct from the deserts of Iraq.

U.S. Marine Corps Commander James Cole, a Mount Prospect native and uncle of two Greenbrier students -- John and Nathan Cole of Arlington Heights, wrote to thank the youngsters for their care packages and letters, which arrived before the holidays.

"I want to thank each and every one of you, from the bottom of my heart," wrote Cole, a trauma surgeon serving in the field, "for your generous gifts and for bringing happiness to 32 cold and lonely people, serving here in the desert of Iraq."

Principal Shelley Fabrizio read part of the three-page letter aloud to the students, reinforcing their December project aimed at promoting "citizenship," for Arlington Heights Elementary District 25's Character Counts program.

"It was a great project," Fabrizio said, "but that letter was really moving."

In all, the students gathered items for three soldiers: Marine Sgt. Adrian Andrews, who has two cousins at the school -- Jack and Spenser Churchill of Arlington Heights; and Marine Corp. Ryan Drager who attended Greenbrier, and is set to be deployed to the Middle East this month.

Deneen Evola of Arlington Heights, Character Counts chairwoman for the school's PTA, wanted to bring the project closer to Greenbrier students, consequently she sought relatives who were serving overseas.

On the collection bins, she posted pictures of Andrews with his two cousins, as well as a shot of Drager in fifth grade next to his picture in his Marine Corps uniform. For Cole, she featured photos of his trauma unit, which looked eerily similar to MASH units (Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals) seen on television, she said.

The appeal drew a whopping 213 pounds of food items, toiletries and games -- eight boxes worth. They shipped them through the UPS store at 309 E. Rand Road in Arlington Heights, which helped sponsor part of the project.

"It's amazing how much the kids responded," Evola said. "When you think that Greenbrier is the smallest school in the district, and yet they collected this much."

She hopes their enthusiasm continues as they work this month on the pillar of "caring," and establish a collection for Northwest Community Hospital's pediatric unit.