Sending a taste of Amherst to Iraq

News-Times reporter

When Jacob Kelley came home from school one afternoon and told his mother what he wanted to do for his fifth grade social studies project, it brought tears to her eyes.

"He's been helping out with so many projects with his sister's Brownie troop and helping me with things and now it's his turn to do something and we are now going to help him out, so I think that's pretty cool," Jacob's mother Misty said.

Major Hal Kendrick -- who has been the director of operations for the Amherst Exempted Village Schools for three years -- traded in his business attire for Army fatigues before the school year even began.

Last month Kendrick, along with members of the 16th Engineer Brigade of the Ohio National Guard based out of Columbus, were sent to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin where they spent one month completing their mobilization training.

From there, he was sent to Kuwait for 10 more days of getting adjusted to the desert temperatures and rough terrain.

He will eventually be deployed to Iraq for nearly a year to help soldiers with the ongoing conflict there.

After learning about this, Jacob knew he had to do something to help.

"I had a citizenship project for school and I chose to put together a soldier's package for him," he said.

Jacob sent superintendent Steve Sayers an e-mail asking his permission to solicit food and other supplies from teachers and administrators in the district to help one of their own, and they did not disappoint him.

When his wife Lori -- who is a school psychologist at Shupe Elementary and Nord Middle schools -- found out about Jacob's quest to collect items for inclusion in care packages, she was honored at the thoughtfulness and generosity displayed by such a young individual.

"It's just a wonderful community to be a part of that young and old would think about our service members and want to help them out so they feel supported and can send them a few extra little treats and candies they can't get over there as easily," she said. "He will certainly appreciate that and knowing people are thinking about him and supporting his effort over there."

So far, Jacob has collected Skittles, orange and peppermint flavored Tic-Tac's, cinnamon hard candies, peanut butter crackers, as well as Kool-Aid and tea drink mixes.

When the women who work the Steele High School cafeteria got wind of Jacob's project, they delivered bags full of chocolate chips, M&Ms, and sugar and dark chocolate cookies. Attached was a handwritten note on the back of one of their lunch menus which states, "Hal, wishing you a safe and speedy tour. Enjoy the high school cookies."

Jacob has also collected wet wipes, batteries, and golf and men's health magazines.

"Someone even sent him a pumpkin for Holloween," Jacob's mother said. "It's a little bit of Amherst coming to him."

Students in Jill Coleman and Tina Dever's third grade class at Powers Elementary School wrote and decorated cards thanking Kendrick for his military service.

"They are really, really great letters," Misty said. "They appreciated what he was doing but they were still sad that he had to be away from his family and friends -- they completely understand that whole concept."

One child wrote, "Please say hi to my uncle Nick if he is with you," while another one wrote, "Thank you for going in to the military to serve our country. I'm sorry you have to stay away from your friends and family so long and thank you for serving our country." Finally, one little girl summed up her feelings the best by writing, "Thank you for going in to the army, you are my hero."

"The teachers didn't give them any directive whatsoever, they just let them loose to write these cards and some brought tears to my eyes," Kelley said.

The kindergarten teachers at Shupe Elementary School also donated $40 to help offset the cost of shipping the care packages overseas.

While Lori and the couple's three children are very proud of and miss their dad very much, she will use this opportunity to become closer to her daughters.

"We think about him all the time and we miss him, but it's harder on the kids," she said. "They've all kind of taken their own week to adjust because my middle one's emotions were very high during that first week or two and now I'm noticing my high schooler who is just kind of down this past week. I've noticed at bedtime they will all hug on me and say they miss daddy and I just hold them really tight and say yeah, we all do."

Anyone interested in contributing to Jacob's cause can do so by contacting him directly at 988-2004 or via e-mail at cometkelleys@aol.com.