CFHS senior gathers gifts for troops

CLARK FORK — It’s tough enough to be stationed overseas during the holidays, but infinitely harder when Christmas rolls around and there’s no package with your name on it.

One Clark Fork High School senior has made it a point to ensure that as many troops as possible get a little something from home, thanks to a class project that has snowballed into a community goodwill mission. 

“I wanted to show people who hadn’t received anything from anybody that it doesn’t matter who the gifts come from — they still have support from home,” said Kayla Brown-Calhoun, who has been collecting items to ship to service members for the past couple months. “I just started thinking, ‘You can help — and this is one way to do that.’ ”

The Clark Fork High School student now has several large boxes ready to go out, but has been on a last-minute push to gather additional materials that will prove useful to soldiers who have been stationed in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. 

High on her list are fun stocking-stuffer items such as Nerf footballs and basketballs, bandanas in solid black or white colors to meet military dress code, black or white socks, postage stamps and envelopes, energy bars, sunscreen and insect repellent. 

One gift every soldier would be happy to find in their package, Kayla said, is a box of Baby Wipes.

“It may sound weird, but that’s really big over there,” she explained.  “The troops don’t get a hot shower every day like we do, so Baby Wipes help a lot.”

Kayla’s collection drive at CFHS is part of a project in KC MacDonald’s Citizenship class.  Her teacher, she said, has been completely supportive, even as the project changed in nature and grew in size after it was first proposed.

“This one’s a little out there, compared to the other projects in the class,” she admitted, adding that most of the assignments have targeted specific needs at the high school and focused on ways to help fellow students.  “My original plan was to send packages to guys who had graduated from CFHS to show them that they had support from their hometown.”

Several recent Clark Fork grads have just completed boot camp and are scheduled to be sent overseas, she noted, while a number of families in the community have sons or daughters currently serving in the military.  In her own family, Kayla’s uncle serves in the Marine Corps and has completed multiple tours in Iraq.

All of those connections — and a sense that her project has the potential to touch the lives of other soldiers over the holidays — prompted the senior to expand on her initial imaginings and take the drive to another level.  In her mind, every time a service member uses a Band-Aid, snacks on a granola bar or thumbs through a magazine from the gift box, there will be a thread that runs from wherever they might be at the time all the way back to the folks in the states.

“I wanted to put together care packages for the troops to show them that people are thinking about them all year long, not just during the holidays,” said Kayla.

“I’ve gotten all kinds of donations from the community and the students at school,” she added.  “And now I’m really thankful to see how much stuff will be shipped and how much people have given.  When I was stacking it all, it made me picture a soldier opening that box and being happy that people care.”

Kayla Brown-Calhoun’s project is open to community donations and is not limited to the Clark Fork area, the student pointed out, adding that any donated items can be picked up at the donor’s home or place of business.

To make a donation or arrange for items to be picked up, call Clark Fork High School at (208) 266-1131.

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The gift boxes that soon will ship out to troops overseas will be filled with items designed to make military life more comfortable.  Using a list supplied by the military, Kayla Brown-Calhoun suggests the following types of donations:

Food supplies

• Peanut butter
• Jelly
• Microwavable macaroni & cheese
• Microwavable popcorn
• Dry crink mixes (Kool-Aid, Gatorade)
• Herbal teas
• Hot chocolate packets

Snack foods

• Dry cereals (small boxes)
• Chips (small bags)
• Energy bars
• Granola bars
• Cookies (small bags)
• Crackers/pretzels
• Nuts
• Chewing gum and hard candies (wrapped)

Toiletries

• Baby Wipes
• Baby powder
• Lip balm
• Contact lens cleaner
• Eye drops
• Q-Tips
• Cotton Balls
• Band-Aids
• Brushes, Combs, Hair Ties