Mission Accomplished! Grapevine 5th Graders Deliver for Iraqi Children

You don't have to be an adult to make a difference in a child's life

Fifth graders in Tricia Palmersheim's Grapevine elementary school class are pretty puffed up. With only one day left in the school year they got a special delivery Thursday that proved they had learned an important lesson in the 5th grade.

A month ago, the 5th graders wrote letters to Iraqi children their own age as a class project. The students also packed school supply kits for those children and then placed everything into a special box they decorated.  

Volunteers from American Airlines came and picked up that box, and carried it with much care and respect on a trip to Iraq to deliver 20 tons of school supplies donated by actor Gary Sinise's foundation, Operation Iraqi Children. 

The impact of those school supplies, delivered by the AA volunteers and members of the Fort Worth Airpower Foundation, was profound. Many of the Iraqi students north of Baghdad had very little to work with, some a broken half pencil and a few sheets of paper. The supplies, along with over 6,000 pairs of donated Croc shoes, were very welcomed.

But, the most profound effect came from those 5th graders letters. They all started with the greeting, "Dear Friend." That salutation apparently meant a great deal to the Iraqi children, who were moved to write back to the Grapevine students, in English.

When those return letters of thanks arrived Thursday in Grapevine, the students were visibly moved, humbled by what they had achieved.  Brian Garrett, who is now looking forward to writing more letters in the 6th grade this fall, summed up his joy like this; "My one voice can make a big difference in the world...they are going to be Iraq's future."  Garrett went on to say, "so if we want them to have what we have, we need to touch their next generation."

The students all agreed, they had learned a valuable life lesson in the 5th grade this year; their words and actions mean something, and that they do not have to wait until they are adults to make a difference in the lives of others.

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