Mackenzie Hurlbert – General Assignment Reporter –
Southern’s gymnastics team participated in an event titled Operation Give recently to benefit US troops stationed overseas.
The team has participated in the drive many times over the past few years and has personally collected multiple boxes of goods to send overseas.
For the event, the team gathered toiletries and other necessities for soldiers away at war and made cards acknowledging their dedication and service and thanking them for it. After collecting the goods, the team dropped them off at Southern’s Veteran Affairs office.
“We have done this many times in the past,” said gymnastics Captain Rebecca Brady, a graduating senior. “We collected toiletries and simple items for soldiers who are away at war. It is a great cause and such a simple way to make a big difference to those who are away serving our country.”
“It was for the people who protect us and don’t ask for anything in return,” said freshman gymnastics teammate Nicole Pruchnik. “We chose to participate because anything that benefits someone else is a beautiful thing.”
Brady felt the drive was simple and easy to do, but still important and well appreciated by the troops nonetheless. “I feel that is important because any little thing that we can do to help is appreciated by them. Though we do not communicate with them it is a great feeling knowing that putting together miscellaneous items that might not mean anything to us, mean so much to them. It really is the little things that matter in life, especially to troops,” she said.
Pruchnik felt similarly. “To me the cause is important because the troops do so much for us every day, and sometimes they need something done for them,” said Pruchnik. “It’s the little things that matter most to them. My favorite movie is the Lucky One based off the book by Nicholas Sparks and in it the main character Logan finds a picture that saves him and gets him out of the war. I hope that the things we collected and the cards we made can help them get through the difficult times they go through.”
The team took their own time and money to collect and donate items.
“Everyone was just told to bring in a couple of items. We generated a large box full,” said Brady. “This is not the first time we have done this. We do things similar to this every year and each time we collect a box full if not more.”
“I think that it was very successful. With a team of 20 girls and three coaches, it was pretty easy to get a lot of stuff.”
“In my eyes anything that helps is successful, whether it is cleaning up trash you see on the side walk or raising a bunch of money for a charity. More people should do community service,” she said. “It makes the world a better place.”
“It was a great drive, I want to do it again so we can send more to them because they deserve so much for all their effort,” said Pruchnik.
Anyone interested in sending goods or care packages to troops overseas can visit http://www.justmilitaryloans.com/military-care-packages-sending-smiles-overseas/ for more information.
There are multiple organizations on that link that collect goods for troops, ranging from toiletries, to video games, to dog biscuits for their furry friends.
The Owls gymnastics team participated in an event called, “Operation Give.” The team collected items for the armed forces.
