11/30/04
By Nick Schmidt
Nick Schmidt/The Western Front
Bernadette Davidson, the program coordinator for Western's chemistry department, helps coordinate a group of staff members in sending care packages to troops in Iraq in her spare time. |
The group, which sends packages roughly once a month, is awaiting official university approval from the provost's office to be able to collect items on university property for the packages, said Bernadette Davidson, the program coordinator for the chemistry department.
The group is part of a national organization known as Operation Interdependence, which is designed to alleviate the strain on the military mail system by centralizing donations by civilian groups.
The group needs approval from the provost's office because it uses university e-mail and phone systems to communicate.
"It was my idea to get involved and just do something," said Davidson, whose son is stationed in Iraq along the Syrian border.
Davidson said each group in the organization is responsible for a platoon, a group of 16 to 50 soldiers.
While they cannot be told exactly which platoon they are supplying because of security reasons, Davidson said that, based on the letters the group members have received, they have been sending care packages to Marines based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
"The old days of writing letters doesn't work now because of new security measures," Davidson said. "We just wanted to show our support because this is not Vietnam -- the troops are not the policy makers. We've got to remember that they are there working and are not forgotten."
Sheryl Sparling, a fiscal technician in accounting services and a member of the group, said that while she is against the war, taking action is the best antidote for despair.
"It is important to keep this war personal, to know that it is affecting real people," she said. "I liked this opportunity so much because it was so personal. When the troops use the items we send, they know somebody spent the time to go out and buy the items in their care package."
Sparling said she feels horrible for the members of the National Guard who are in Iraq.
"They never thought when they signed up that they would be in this particular situation -- signing up for the Army is different because this is what they do," she said.
Sparling said the death of Cpl. Jonathan Santos, the son of Doris Kent, Western's Wellness Outreach coordinator, brought the impact of the war closer to home.
"It is important to be a witness and take action and not let someone else take action for you," she said.
Western sophomore Tyler Wilkins-Haigh said he was glad to hear about the actions of Davidson and Sparling's group.
"Supporting the troops is a good thing -- it is important to separate the war from the soldiers," he said.
Davidson said the biggest hurdle in their effort to get the packages to Iraq is the packaging and shipping costs.
The rules of Operation Interdependence require that all care packages be contained within 50 quart-size Ziploc bags, which takes time to do.
In addition to the costs of the items, Davidson said, it costs $17 to ship the packages to the Operation Interdependence center in Oregon.
The costs also include a $30 money order to help pay the cost of shipping all this region's packages to the Middle East.
Davidson said that sometimes people will offer to pay just the shipping costs instead of going out and buying the items for the packages.
The group members do not meet, but they communicate through phone or e-mail regularly.
Davidson said that if anyone is interested in getting involved in sending care packages to Iraq they can call her at (360) 371-6303.
