In November, Mrs. Randles, principal of Burton Elementary School, was invited by Tim and Terri Berman who are involved with Adopt-A-Platoon to help them reach their goal of raising $1500.00 to prepare care packages to be sent overseas to 50 men and women in the military.
As a result, PJ Day was conceived, and the Burton Elementary students who donated money to the care packages were allowed to wear their PJ’s to school. The idea turned out to be more successful than anyone thought possible with the students raising a total of $1200.00 which allowed the Bermans to reach their goal.
In an effort to keep donors informed, the Bermans have sent updates to those who have helped. In November, before Thanksgiving and during the first phase of this undertaking, the Bermans wrote the following:
“Special thanks to my cousin Laura Towslee and her employer and co-workers at Stratos Wealth Partner in Solon, Ohio for their amazing generosity supporting our troops. I met up with Laura and her family on Saturday to pick up the donations and my Yukon was FULL!! Literally. I had intended to do some troop shopping while I was out, but I had to come home to unload. After taking a look at everything, we made the decision to request another platoon of 20 soldiers through Adopt A Platoon to send Christmas care packages. That will bring the total to 70!”
On December 5, these packages were mailed out at the cost of $14.85 each.
Then again on December 6, a final update was sent.
“We have finally sent off the last care package to the troops. The support generated for these courageous men and women has been overwhelming. The total number of boxes sent was a staggering 88! Here’s what was sent.
“We adopted two platoons. One with 50 soldiers and one with 20. Each received a full box of goodies, which you can see in the attached pictures, along with letters and pictures from students and girl scouts in our area. With still money and items left, we sent 5 extra boxes each to our two “adopted” soldiers for them to distribute among the members of their platoon.
“Still wanting to do more, Adopt-a-Platoon gave us two chaplains attached to huge battalions. These were each sent 65 Christmas cards with big Christmas chocolate candy bars attached. They will distribute these to soldiers who are in need of support. This means that through your generosity, you have touched the lives in one way or another of over 200 men and women serving this great country!
“Please take a moment to visit the Adopt a Platoon website. You can see pictures and letters of soldiers who have received support from people such as yourselves. If you would like to continue supporting the troops all through the year, there are several ways. You can adopt a soldier, become a pen pal, or just participate in one of their campaigns such as Valentines Day, Easter, Foot Care, Don’t Bug Me and so on.
“Thank you to all who helped by donating money, items, cards and letters, and prayers! God Bless you all, and may you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.”
Tim and Terri
Take a look at the Adopt A Platoon Facebook page
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