St. Agnes students write messages of hope to troops overseas

As they have for the last two years, the students of St. Agnes Cathedral Elementary School have again written letters to U.S. troops serving overseas — just in time for Thanksgiving.

According to village resident Liz Boylan, who coordinates the correspondence from the school through an organization called the Jacob’s Light Foundation, the letters will be delivered to servicemen and women in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. Boylan, who reads through the letters to make sure they are light and festive and will lift the spirits of their readers, said they all contain messages of hope.

The younger students in kindergarten, first and second grades draw pictures, Boylan said. The older students decorate cards with arts and crafts. Their letters are lengthy and from the heart. Many of their teachers included notes of their own this year as well.

“Every child who wrote said please know that we pray for you every day,” Boylan said. “Many of the letters referred to the trapped Chilean miners —‘we just want to let you know that a miracle happened this week, 33 miners were rescued from a collapsed gold mine in Chile after 69 days… so don’t give up hope — they had hope.’”

Boylan noted that this year, more than any other year, the students mentioned that members of their families — fathers, uncles, cousins and brothers had also served or are serving. She also said that another theme running through the letters was the New York Jets football team, and she recalled at least one humorous note from a sixth grader: “Dear Soldier,” it read, “I want to thank you for your service to the country. It’s because of you that I’m able to go from place to place, I’m able to play my sports and I’m able to go to the movies. I’m not able to eat chocolate, but I’m working on that.”

Boylan said the letters for Thanksgiving were sent out on the last Tuesday of October and Christmas letters will go out on the last Tuesday of November.

Jacob’s Light was founded by Dorine Kenney after losing her only child, Jacob S. Fletcher, a paratrooper in the 173rd Airborne Brigade, to an IED in Iraq on Nov. 14, 2003. The Long Island-based non profit’s mission is to send U.S. personnel stationed overseas necessities and comforts from home. It focuses on troops without family or support and works to give them the support they need and to be a lifeline from America. Boylan says Kenney has set a goal of sending every soldier on her list of 250 names at least 10 letters in time for the holidays.

In return for its efforts, St. Agnes has received several letters from Jacob's Light. A note from its secretary/treasurer to co-principal Helen Newman last year thanked the school’s students.

“We would like to thank you for the beautiful letters and cards that were written to American soldiers by your students. We appreciate your kind words and thoughts. It means the world to our soldiers who are so far from home to know that you are thinking about them.

“To date, with donations such as this, we have sent over 330,000 pounds of supplies in care packages to American troops overseas, many of whom would not otherwise receive mail. Hundreds of letters of appreciation from these heroes let us know that we are making a difference in the lives of these brave men and women.’

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