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A word from real angels
Hugs from Home ships holiday treats to Iraq
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 12/1/05
BY ALESHA WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER The Christmas stockings Cindy D'Amico helped fill at her Englishtown home last weekend weren't loaded with traditional stocking stuffers.
Sure, there were candy canes and holiday cards.
But D'Amico and other volunteers made sure these stockings had toothpaste, gum, sunscreen, beef jerky, lip balm and soap, among other items.
The unorthodox goodies were part of a Hugs from Home project called Holidays from Home. The organization, founded last year by Carolyn Duraski of South Carolina, sends comfort to U.S. servicemen and women through mail and gifts year-round.
"I think it's wonderful,'' D'Amico said about Hugs from Home. "I just wanted to be a part of it, to let the soldiers know they haven't been forgotten.''
D'Amico's daughter, Samantha Novotny, 23, and Kristin Petrella, 29, led the six volunteers on Saturday in stuffing about 70 stockings and preparing 70 holiday cards to be shipped to soldiers this week.
Novotny of Brick Township, Ocean County, and Petrella of Absecon, Atlantic County, took over leadership of the national organization this year when Duraski resigned for personal reasons.
"We always say, you don't have to support the war, but you can support your troops,'' Petrella said.
The women spend four to seven hours daily corresponding with soldiers, preparing special projects like Holidays from Home or reading applications from prospective "huggers'' and "huggees.'' Volunteers and troops can sign up at the group's Web site,
www.hugsfromhome.org.
Hugs had about 100 huggers when the pair took over, Petrella said. Huggers have grown to more than 300 nationwide. They include some entire classes of students.
Huggees include about 390 service members, mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan, she said.
Huggers mail and e-mail their soldiers individually, but some also set up boxes to collect donations for Novotny and Petrella to ship. The group has sent blankets, cards and coupons for service members and families both overseas and at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
"The kids will say things like, "We miss you, come home soon.' They draw little stick figures of army men and want to know things like, "Is it hot in Iraq?' '' Petrella said, laughing.
Sometimes the exchanges between huggers and huggees can be even more heartfelt, Novotny said. She corresponds with four soldiers and Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Novotny said one of her adopted soldiers and his girlfriend lost a baby just before he was deployed. Another soldier in Iraq, who is the mother of a 12-year-old daughter, often laments being away from her family, Novotny said.
"She's depressed,'' Novotny said of the soldier. "Depending where you are, they tell us the bathrooms can be terrible. There are units in tents with no electricity, (or) no computer accessibility.''
But the news isn't always bad. Petrella and Novotny said they often are surprised at how optimistic and positive most of the soldiers remain.
"I save all of my e-mails that they send me,'' Novotny said, brightening as she revealed about 60 saved e-mail messages on her laptop computer. One soldier, from Clark Range, Tenn., even invited Samantha to his wedding via a Sept. 8 e-mail.
"You ask about how they're doing, how they're making out,'' Novotny said. "You make lifelong friends from people you never meet. You get to know someone's life.''
Some volunteers, like D'Amico, say they are still waiting to hear from their soldiers. But D'Amico said she continues to write her huggee monthly, as required by Hugs From Home.
That's the spirit of the program, her daughter said.
"For as long as there's a war, we'll be sending mail,'' Novotny said. "We understand the soldiers get busy.
"As time goes on, they feel like people forget about them,'' she said. "We're here to support them and make sure their name isn't skipped at mail call.''
Alesha Williams: (732) 308-7756 or awilliams@app.com |
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