Nolensville Students Make Care Packages for Soldiers

Published January 7, 2010

On a day when most children are counting the minutes until Winter Break begins, students in Shannon Robertson's fifth grade class at Nolensville Elementary School spent December 18 filling dozens of boxes with items like toothpaste, deodorant and trail mix. It was a special moment for a class that wants to show its appreciation to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.

The effort began in November when a parent at Nolensville Elementary School came up with the idea of making cards and care packages to send to Robertson's brother, Jeff, who is currently stationed in Afghanistan.

"I was just looking for the perfect gift for Mrs. Robertson from the class and knowing how much she loves her brother I thought this would be a good gift," said Nolensville parent Susan Shakeshaft. "I expected it to be a couple of boxes, but as word got out it was just absolutely amazing the response we got."

CVS heard about the effort and volunteered to donate $400 worth of supplies. When it was all said and done, the students filled 29 boxes with everything from food to paper plates to playing cards. In addition to all the goodies, each box contained a card from the kids as well as a class picture.

"It's really fun because you know you're doing something right," said fifth grader Josie Medley. "The soldiers don't have a lot of the things we take for granted and we really want to help get that stuff over to them."

Not only did the students and their parents collect enough supplies to fill more than two dozen care packages, but they also raised enough cash to pay for the cost of shipping.

"It's been overwhelming," said Robertson. "It was amazing to see what a class of fifth graders and their parents were able to accomplish through their giving. It's been the coolest thing I've ever seen a class do."