Columbia students make, send cards to soldiers deployed in Egypt

Fathers and children at Columbia Elementary School make Christmas cards for a U.S. Army platoon in Sinai, Egypt. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Columbia Elementary School families and PTA hopefully brightened the holidays for a U.S. Army platoon in Sinai, Egypt by creating and shipping greeting cards.

The idea grew from a recruitment meeting for Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) for fathers and father figures, PTA officer Sarah Armstrong said. Armstrong suggested writing cards to troops overseas after finding the Project Frontlines website (adoptaussoldier.org/index.php/site/frontlines).

Along with making cards, Columbia PTA officers decided to serve cocoa and decorate cookies. PTA officers Heather Gjesvold, Tiffany McDaniel, Piper Moore and Armstrong invited the student body and faculty to attend. Other PTA members supplied card stock and supplies.

Project Frontlines supplied contact information for a platoon. “In hindsight, it would have been better to find a platoon local to the arsenal that we could have supported,” Armstrong said.

Columbia PTA received the name and home state of the 1st Sargent in charge of a unit of 79 soldiers in Sinai, Egypt.

Students used crayons, markers, pens and holiday stickers to decorate cards, which read “Happy Holidays from Columbia” on the cover. Students and their fathers wrote “Merry Christmas,” “Happy New Year,” “Be Safe” and messages thanking the soldiers for their service.

“The most memorable card had a joke written on it: ‘Why did the elephant cross the road? Answer: Because it was the chicken’s day off,'” Armstrong said.

Working on cards brought students and their fathers together in outreach. “Students have learned we shouldn’t only think about ourselves and our own families during the holidays but also those serving our country and having to be away from family so we can be safe,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong sees the card project “as a stepping stone to future projects that support our troops. We feel these cards will brighten up their lives and maybe decorate” their living quarters.

“So many soldiers and their families don’t have resources to send cards and even gifts during the holidays,” Armstrong said. “We’re glad to help out in just this small way.”