GILROY
– With a boyfriend training at Fort Knox and a cousin stationed
in South Korea, it’s expected Stephanie Smith cares about American
troops.
What’s less expected about the 16-year-old Gilroy High School
junior is her involvement with Operation Yellow Ribbon, an effort
to boost troop morale by shipping care packages and letters of
support to U. S. soldiers around the globe and in the Persian
Gulf.
GILROY – With a boyfriend training at Fort Knox and a cousin stationed in South Korea, it’s expected Stephanie Smith cares about American troops.
What’s less expected about the 16-year-old Gilroy High School junior is her involvement with Operation Yellow Ribbon, an effort to boost troop morale by shipping care packages and letters of support to U. S. soldiers around the globe and in the Persian Gulf.
Smith is Gilroy’s connection to the national organization.
Over the course of last week, Smith and her mother, Leslie Smith, established three local donation stations where donors can drop off personal care items, non-perishable foods and encouraging messages. During the first Gulf war, Operation Yellow Ribbon sent 11.5 tons of care packages to troops in the Middle East.
“It’s almost like my life has meaning now, not that it didn’t before,” Stephanie Smith said. “It’s just that I’m focused on something important now. I want to know more about everything – I listen to the news, I listen to what the president says. I’d want to be the head of something like Operation Yellow Ribbon in the future.”
Smith and her mom spent Friday afternoon collecting the Gilroy donations. On Saturday, they spent the morning with dozens of Bay Area residents assembling packages at Operation Yellow Ribbon’s San Jose headquarters.
“We picked up a lot more than we expected,” Leslie Smith said. “(First) Baptist Church and South Valley (Community) Church thought they wouldn’t have any donations until after Sunday (because the weekend was the first chance to inform parishioners of the effort). I guess the PR (on the radio) helped.”
The Smiths were interviewed on the air Friday morning by radio personality Marla Davies of Mix 106.5 FM. They talked about Operation Yellow Ribbon and its new Gilroy link.
“The interview was at 8:15 in the morning, so I did play some hooky,” said Stephanie Smith, who missed her first few periods of school to do the interview. “But it was for a good cause.”
Smith, a member of the GHS swim team and choir, doesn’t call herself a “war supporter,” but she is quick to describe herself as “pro-disarming Saddam.”
“This whole experience has given me a lot of confidence,” Smith said. “When I talk about (the war and Operation Yellow Ribbon) I get kind of loud. I was never like that before.”
Operation Yellow Ribbon began 12 years ago during the first Gulf war. It was the brainchild of a Bay Area couple and Jared Sowards, who was seeking a project that could earn him the Boy Scouts prestigious Eagle Scout honor.
Each care package sent to a troop contains a letter from a civilian supporter. The letter writing campaign is being handled by YourMorganHill.com, a Morgan Hill sponsored Web site. The Web site encourages parents and teachers to do writing projects with children and send troops the resulting letters and drawings.
Letter writers can send their messages via e-mail to ou*******@yo************.com or by regular mail to Our Troops, P.O. Box 1179, Morgan Hill, CA 95038.
Organizers say cash donations are as helpful as items and letters, especially this year, since the group must pay for regular postage.
During Gulf War I, the group was able to ship packages for free via an air force base. However, for security reasons, the military does not provide soldiers’ names and does not accept packages without a specific address.
For more information on Operation Yellow Ribbon, visit online at www.operationyellowribbon.org
Suggested care package items for U.S. Military troops
Personal hygiene:
hand wipes
lip balm
sun block
hand and body lotion
breath mints
dental floss
foot powder
socks
T-shirts
plastic storage bags
Non-perishable food items:
hard candies
dry cereal
nutrition bars
dried fruit
beef jerky
powdered drink mixes
spices
tea bags
gum
Fun extras:
stationary
greeting cards (to send back home)
post cards
pens and pencils
playing cards
travel games
batteries
hacky sack balls
puzzles
frisbees
disposable cameras
Gilroy Donation Stations:
• Gilroy Chiropractic Center
Hecker Pass Plaza
1230 First St.
• First Baptist Church
8455 Wren Ave.
• South Valley Community Church
8095 Kelton Drive
