LIHU‘E — There was excitement in the air Tuesday morning at the Kauai Veterans Center on Kapule Highway as nine home-school students and their teacher descended on the facility laden with cartons of materials and supplies destined for the Operation
LIHU‘E — There was excitement in the air Tuesday morning at the Kauai Veterans Center on Kapule Highway as nine home-school students and their teacher descended on the facility laden with cartons of materials and supplies destined for the Operation Morale program.
“It’s all the things we have asked for,” Sgt. Adam Britto said as he and Kauai Veterans Council Cmdr. Frank Cruz accepted the contributions from the students.
In addition to the supplies, each of the students included a hand-made card of greetings and appreciation, one card addressed to “Dear soldier,” expressing the sentiment, “Thank you for fighting for America.”
“We made it ourselves,” one of the students said. Several of the cards included innovative features such as pop-ups and other creative characteristics that identified the card with its creator.
“We got everything by ourselves,” Christian Salibi, one of the students, was quick to volunteer. “It took about a week, but we asked people, and some of the stuff we just bought.”
Those items included such everyday items as soap, wet wipes, and other domestic items that people here take for granted.
Britto, a veteran of 25 years of military service, explained that when you’re out in the field, it’s sometimes difficult to make a trip to the commissary to pick up these things.
Other items in the cartons included periodicals of varying subject matter, paperback books, and even a hardcover novel. Scattered among these were games, and more items unique to the Hawai‘i lifestyle — saimin, Kaua‘i Kookies, and Vienna sausage.
Britto said that these items will only serve to demonstrate the support the troops who are away from home are getting from their home.
It also builds on the pen-pal system, Britto explained, as soldiers may even respond to some of the cards and letters that were part of the package dropped off at the Kauai Veterans Center.
At the forefront of everything, Britto said that it is important to keep the soldiers’ morale high. Britto added that this is the reason why he told Cruz he would head up the volunteer effort on behalf of the Kauai Veterans Council.
Robin Yost, the teacher for the nine students under the Kea Home School system, said she got the idea after reading about the outreach program in The Garden Island several months ago.
“This is something I thought the students could get involved in,” she said. “It’s a great thing for the kids to get involved in.” Yost indicated that the effort taught the students a lot about respect and integrity while helping to keep the spirits of off-island soldiers high.
After some effort, Yost finally made contact with Britto and, following the students’ fall break, Yost said Britto came and spoke with the students, sharing his 25 years of military service with them, as well as discussing why it’s important to keep morale high.
While keeping the morale of the troops high is high on Britto’s list of priorities, so is making sure that families left behind are taken care of.
Britto explained that they work closely with the Family Readiness Group here. Items that are not suitable for inclusion in the overseas shipments are given to the families, he said. These may include canned goods and baby clothes, as an example, Britto pointed out.
Additionally, they keep close tabs on the families, and help out wherever they can, such as when a car needs repair, or some other similar problem arises.
The Kauai Veterans Council is hosting a special Christmas event this Sunday, Dec. 12, that includes a morning workshop where veterans can be updated on their benefits, and representatives from the various veteran benefit agencies will be on hand to answer questions and enjoy the fellowship.
Students who participated include Coultan Riskus, Isabella Voorhies, Carley Hudson, Alexandria Russell, Salibi, Eli Hayes, Sean Russell, Hannah Hayes, Dylan Mathew Montoya, and parent Shawna Hudson.
Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@pulitzer.net.
