For The Herald Bulletin

More than 1,000 handmade holiday greetings from local public school students are now on the way to Hoosier service men and women based out of Camp Atterbury.

The project to share the holiday spirit is a community service partnership involving WHBU Radio 1240-AM, the Anderson Education Foundation and Anderson Community Schools.

WHBU’s Leland Franklin started the project last year with his wife’s students at Pendleton’s East Elementary School. Mrs. Franklin’s brother has completed three tours of duty in the Middle East.

“He has a little girl, and every time he leaves is so hard,” Franklin said of his loved ones. “That’s one reason we started this, to let military families know we care.” The idea grew into this year’s greeting effort that is sending more than 1,000 cards, notes, letters, and hand-drawn holiday pictures to Hoosier military personnel.

“Valley Grove Elementary School students and staff really took the project to heart and turned in 515 student greetings to soldiers,” said Cynthia Granger, executive director of the Anderson Education Foundation.

Valley Grove Principal Jan Koeniger elaborated. “Our kids were real excited. We do something like this every year for the Character Counts pillar of Caring. The kids had questions for the military about what is going on and wrote the questions in their cards. Plus, cards and letters from kids are always funny,” Koeniger said. “Military folks need that at this time. We hope the greetings bring smiles to them, they deserve it.”

ACS Superintendent Mikella Lowe said, “We are thankful for all of our service men and women, many of whom must serve away from home. Character Counts has become an integral part of our curriculum and I am thrilled to see one more example of our students giving to others.”

Koeniger said Valley Grove students have also written almost 450 letters for Meals on Wheels and 862 for shut-ins during this holiday season.

The teachers and students work these voluntary activities into free time, not academic time, Koeniger noted.

“It’s heartwarming to read some of the greetings,” Granger said. “Some students wrote a little about their own holiday plans. Some included an update on the Colts’ season. Others just simply wished the recipient Happy Holidays. And, there were lots of kids who made several greeting cards.”

The students used everything from pencil, to pen, to crayon, to felt marker and every color one can imagine to create notes of joy for service men and women they will never meet. “There were no signatures,” Granger said, “just a first name and grade level of the student. The back of the greetings carry the Anderson Education Foundation and Anderson Community Schools logo and a general greeting from the two organizations.”

Lowe added, “Anderson Community Schools are so lucky to have the Anderson Education Foundation. They provide many wonderful opportunities for our students and staff. The Foundation provided the greeting card materials and coordinated the collection. This is just another example of the innovative ways the Foundation serves ACS students and staff.”

Students who voluntarily made the holiday greetings attend: the Academy for Character Education at Ebbertt Education Center; New Futures Alternative School at Greenbriar; and these elementary schools — Anderson, Eastside, Edgewood, Forest Hills, Robinson, Southview, Tenth Street and Valley Grove.