Kelsey Hallock of Aquebogue Participates in Eastern's "Remember the Troops" Event

2010 Dec 13

Members of Eastern Connecticut State University's community engagement student group, People Helping People (PHP), hosted an event to show their support for U.S. troops stationed in Iraq on Dec. 10 at Sweeney Elementary School in Willimantic.

Local student Kelsey Hallock '14 of Aquebogue participated in the event. Hallock is majoring in Pre-Elementary Education.

With the holiday season in mind, the Eastern student group, along with the Sweeney schoolchildren, designed T-shirts with children's handprints; created Christmas cards and ornaments; packaged a small Christmas tree; and collected food and other holiday goodies to send to the troops.

The schoolchildren discovered more about the soldiers they are helping by looking at pictures of the soldiers in their uniforms and also on the battlefield. Eastern students read letters they have received from the soldiers explaining to the children exactly what it is that they do on a day-to-day basis.

The T-shirts showed the student's support and gratitude towards the troops. Messages like "Thank You for Serving" appear on the front of the apparel and have a soldier's name on the back with the children's handprints around the name. In addition to the T-shirts, the children made holiday cards for all of the soldiers.

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Eastern Connecticut State University is part of the Connecticut State University (CSU) system and is the state's public liberal arts university. Eastern serves more than 5,600 students each year on its Willimantic campus. It is the policy of Eastern Connecticut State University to ensure equal access to its events. If you are an individual with a disability and will need accommodations for this event, please contact the Office of University Relations at (860) 465-5735.

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