Abby Scheer, left, adviser to the youth groups at Temple Beth Torah in Ocean, and Sgt. Carrie Henderson of Oakhurst at the temple after Henderson told the children about the comfort that packages from home bring to men and women serving in the U.S. armed forces.
Photo courtesy Pam Cardullo
December 2, 2008
When youth group members and religious-school students at Temple Beth Torah in Ocean decided to assemble care packages for American military personnel in Iraq, it was with the hope that the gifts would boost soldiers’ morale.
When they heard a firsthand account of the comfort such packages bring to American soldiers who are far from home, the youngsters knew their objective would be fulfilled.
Thirty students from the temple’s religious school’s fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade classes and its USY, Kadima, and pre-Kadima youth groups began to assemble the 100 packages on Oct. 26 and got a visit from Sgt. Carrie Henderson of Oakhurst.
“Getting a care package from home is the best morale booster you can imagine,” she told the youngsters. Henderson, who was stationed in Afghanistan from March 2006 to March 2007, may soon be deployed to Iraq. “We’re proud to serve our country, but we do miss home. When we get packages or letters, we know people here are thinking about us and that they care.”
The project was organized by temple youth group adviser Abby Scheer of Ocean Township in conjunction with the Monmouth County branch of American Recreational Military Services. The national organization was founded in 2003 by a group of grassroots volunteers who wanted to help U.S. military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. ARMS now has more than 325 volunteers in the New Jersey-New York region and has shipped more than 20,000 care boxes (more than 200,000 pounds of necessities) overseas.
“I knew it would be a wonderful project for the temple’s youth,” said Scheer. “We made this a hands-on project, and I think it took the kids to a higher level of awareness. They’re learning about the spirit of tikun olam and that the world is a bigger and more complicated place than they thought.”
In early October, the temple’s USY members conducted a car wash and raised $180 that was used to purchase items for the care packages. The group also received donations from temple members, Scheer said.
According to her, items needed by the troops include lip balm, toothbrushes, eye drops, wet wipes, protein and cereal bars, hard candy and snack foods, batteries, tissues, microwavable foods, small boxes of cereal, and powered drink mixes.
Henderson, 25, who works in the army’s communications division, received packages from ARMS during her tour in Afghanistan. The Beth Torah children were eager to learn about her military experience.
“They asked me some great questions,” she told NJJN in a phone conversation after her talk with the youngsters. “They wanted to know our favorite things that are sent from home. I told them that anything from home is appreciated. Then they wanted to know our least favorite thing to receive, and I told them there is no such thing — we’re happy to get anything people are kind enough to send us. Getting care packages can turn a bad day into a good day.”
The children also asked Henderson about the climate in Iraq and Afghanistan (she told them that it’s extremely hot in the summer months and freezing during the winter), whether the terrain is sandy (it is), and if she had been engaged in any violent encounters with enemy soldiers (she hasn’t, but some of her friends have been injured).
“I loved talking to these kids,” said Henderson, who has been in the army for five years and intends on being a career soldier. “They were so polite and so interested. I told them that I’ve made terrific friends in the service and that these friends become your family away from home. They were glad to know that even if we’re stationed far away, we always have friends with us along with our friends back home.”
The Beth Torah children are now among those friends, said Toni Seinfeld of Long Branch, an ARMS volunteer who helped coordinate the shipment of the temple’s care packages.
“These children reached out with love and concern, and their support was overwhelming,” she said. “As a volunteer, I get to see the very best of people in all age groups. They remind our military servicepeople that they are our heroes.”
Additional information about ARMS is available at www.supportarms.org.
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