Wednesday, February 27, 2002

KATHY EVANS
Record Contributor

Those who would like to thank U.S. military personnel for their service to the country now have a chance.

Amy Shaw, public information officer for the Southwest Public Libraries, said tables have been set up at both the Grove City Library, 3359 Park St., and the Westland Area Library, 4740 W. Broad St., to collect messages for members of the Armed Forces.

"We're sending postcards to our troops overseas," Shaw said. "People can write a note of encouragement or thanks on a postcard, and we're sending them through Military Moms, which is a group that ships out packages to the troops each week."

About 200 postcards have been filled out so far. Blank cards are available at the displays.

"I had a teacher come in and get 52 of them for a class project," Shaw said. "There have been families that have come in and picked them up to do around the kitchen table.

"We took the display to the state of the city (of Grove City on Feb. 14). There was a lot of interest there. There has been a lot of interest from a lot of different people in the community."

Shaw said the cards will continue to be collected as long as area residents continue to fill them out.

She said the messages have been "uplifting."

For instance, one woman who identified herself only as Mary wrote the following on a postcard:

"I'm so proud that you are serving our country. 'Thanks' seems like such a small thing to say, but it is from my heart."

Another woman, Denise, wrote: "Thank you so much for serving our country. I am so proud of all our service men and women. I pray that you will be safe from harm."

Finally, Tonia tells military personnel that "we who are left behind in our homes will never be able to express our appreciation to you."

Shaw said she learned about Military Moms on the Internet.

"We thought it would be very easy to do something like this, but we had to do research to find someone who could help us with it," she said. "We had a lot of people come in who wanted to do it."

Military Moms was founded last August by Amherst, N.Y. resident Wendy Petit.

"I started the site after my son, Jeremy, left for basic training in Fort Benning, Georgia," Petit said. "I searched the 'Net looking for some kind of support for moms. I knew if I was feeling this way, surely there must be other moms out there feeling the same way I was.

"So in what felt like my darkest hour of worry for my son, Military Moms was born. I soon found out that I'm not alone."

Petit said the organization's members have sent "thousands of letters, cards, candy and Girl Scout cookies to our troops."

"They have gone to Kuwait, Korea, Kosovo, Germany, Bosnia and to the U.S.S. Roosevelt in the Arabian Sea," she said. "This past week, we sent 256 pounds to the front lines in Kandahar, Afghanistan. We have another shipment to go out this week again about the same size."

In addition to supporting U.S. military personnel, Petit said the organization provides support to their families through its Web site, www.militarymoms.net.

"Military Moms is a way to reach the mom who has questions about her loved one who just started basic, to the mom whose loved one just got deployed, to the mom who is feeling heartbroken and missing her son or daughter," she said. "We provide support and encouragement to each other. We share our joys and sorrows."

She added that the organization is not only for mothers.

"We are not just moms," she said. "We are dads, wives, grandparents, aunts and uncles, sisters and brothers."