Hiseville, KY — With the help of AmeriCorps, Hiseville Elementary students have been putting together care packages to show their support for our troops. Called "Operation Appreciation," the project was initiated and coordinated by three local AmeriCorps members serving with KY READS. The elementary school has collected over 3,000 items including toothpaste, notebooks, pens, Kleenex, and freezer bags. “Operation Appreciation” is an example of the type of activities USA Freedom Corps is supporting in its new effort, “On the Homefront.”

Hiseville Elementary students stuff "Operation Appreciation" care packages

Says first year AmeriCorps member, Alecia Maynard, "We wanted to involve the children in the right way. We know what they are seeing on TV, and some of the children have parents who have been deployed. The children took this project very personally - they saw to it that their toothpaste got in!"

Area businesses also took part in the effort. Glasgow's Malchow and Lawless Orthodontics donated cases of toothbrushes. True Value Hardware of Cave City donated brown paper bags. Glasgow's Edmund Rogers Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, as well as the Glasgow Marine Corp League, have donated money which will be used to set up a relief fund for the military families affected by the war.

To inaugurate the "Operation Appreciation" care package assembly, students were treated to a reading by the AmeriCorps members of the book, "The Flag We Love." The students personally decorated each bag under the direction of the Hiseville Elementary art teacher.

Bags decorated with messages of support

The 65 finished care packages will be presented to the local National Guard Armory. Two hundred more bags have been decorated by the students and will be filled with items that have been collected from the Glasgow community. Because of restrictions placed on items going overseas, the bags will be distributed stateside to Kentucky service men and women who are being deployed.

"Operation Appreciation" has inspired other local elementary schools to start their own projects.

"When the AmeriCorps team asked to do this project, I thought it was great idea and was very proud that they came up with this themselves and had the initiative," says Donna Brown, KY READS regional manager. "Then seeing the finished, decorated bags made my heart swell with pride."

"Operation Appreciation" is one of many projects across the country AmeriCorps members have organized to support the troops. AmeriCorps members serving at Lyon Elementary School in Clarksdale, Miss. organized a family fun day with food, games, and counseling for 100 family members of reservists called to active duty. AmeriCorps members in Redding, Calif. assembled care packages for troops in Afghanistan. Other AmeriCorps members are helping relay messages between families and service members through the Armed Forces Emergency Services unit of the American Red Cross, which is chartered by Congress to provide communication links to military personnel stationed around the world.

Students recite the Pledge of Allegiance before reading "The Flag We Love."

Says Leslie Lenkowsky, the CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency which oversees AmeriCorps, "I am proud of our AmeriCorps members and their efforts to engage the community in supporting our troops. And I am also proud of the students at Hiseville Elementary who've shown such compassion and understanding of our American values."

Created in 1993, the Corporation for National and Community Service engages Americans of all ages and backgrounds in improving communities through service in Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. The Corporation and its programs are part of USA Freedom Corps, a White House initiative to foster a culture of citizenship, service and responsibility, and help all Americans answer the President's Call to Service. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.org.