Students put Operation Twinkie into action for soldiers
SOUTH HOLLAND | When students found out what soldiers in Iraq want, they sprang into action
Operation Twinkie is very hush-hush. Information on the sweet tooths of soldiers is shared strictly on a need-to-know basis.
When 11-year-old Glennita Williams e-mailed her best friend's dad in Iraq as to what he needed, she was let in on a military secret.
(Courtesy)
"He said: Hostess Twinkies," said the fifth-grader at McKinley Elementary in South Holland.
So was born Operation Twinkie.
For 10 days, 24 students in Cathy Gonnella's fifth-grade classroom used their own allowances and coaxed and cajoled others to collect 1,000 Twinkies, Ho-Hos, Suzy-Q's and cupcakes shipped this week to the 108th Sustainment Brigade (FWD) in Al Kasik, Iraq.
"We packed like 72 Twinkies and nine Ho-Ho's in a box," said Gonnella. "But I'm sure they'll arrive fine. Thank goodness Twinkies have a long shelf life."
Her students said they wished they could see the faces of Maj. Michael Striverson's National Guard unit upon opening the boxes.
"If I was him, I'd be jumping all over the place," Glennita was sure.
She'd joined other family and friends in maintaining e-mail contact with her friend's dad, learning his unit was stationed at an off-base facility with no mess hall, and thus responsible for their own meals.
He's assigned to a special unit helping the Iraqis learn to sustain themselves, said Striverson's wife, Renee, herself in the Army Reserve.
"He sent back a list of things they needed or would just like to have, like fly swatters," Renee Striverson said. "But he really missed Twinkies. I believe he now has at least a Twinkie -- or two, or three."
When Glennita told her parents, Darrian and Anita Williams, what she wanted to do, they suggested she ask her class to help. The school readily got on board.
"Of course," said principal Michelle Coleman. "To have a fifth-grade student concerned about our troops was such a wonderful thing."
Each student wrote a letter on Operation Twinkie that their teacher sent with the stash. "The project brought up great discussion about what people go through for our freedom, and how you can make a big difference in someone's life by doing something small," she said.
Glennita learned several things.
"My friend and her sisters are going through a very hard time because they won't be able to see their father for a long time," she said. "I learned we can't forget about the people in Iraq because they're serving our country. We gotta remember they have sweet tooths too."
