Rolling Meadows High School ships supplies to troops

After only a week of collection, students from Rolling Meadows High School gathered on Tuesday to fill at least a dozen large boxes of supplies to send to troops in Afghanistan.

The service project was partially inspired by 2009 RMHS graduate Mike Montero, who recently served nine months in Afghanistan. Teachers said they wanted to do something for other young men and women like Montero, who is now based in Germany.

“It's close to home because we have former students over there,” said teacher Mike Drenth who helped organize the supply drive with fellow Career and Technology Education teachers Kimmi Drendel and Linda Pribyl.

The boxes were filled with food, gum, toothbrushes, games, decks of cards and more.

With only a week's worth of donations, Drenth said he was impressed with how much the students were able to collect.

“The kids really stepped up,” he said.

The students took donations from the school and held a chili cook-off before a basketball game last weekend to collect more supplies and money to buy goods.

Although this is the first year the school has done this event, teachers said that in the future they may be able to collect even more in a longer amount of time.

The school worked with the nonprofit organization Soldiers' Angels that helped determine where in Afghanistan to ship the supplies; and the Rolling Meadows Rotary Club, which helped with shipping costs and donated additional supplies.

Montero's sister, Allie Montero, a senior at Rolling Meadows, helped pack boxes on Tuesday and said she knows how much the donation will mean to the troops.

“I know they'll appreciate it and it'll help them feel a little closer to home,” she said. “They're doing everything for us, so this is something little we can do.”