'A way to say thank you' to veterans

Joel Condray said he is always looking for ways to teach his students "outside of the textbook." Six years ago, he came up with the idea of devoting part of their school time to helping soldiers overseas. His students participate in the AdoptaPlatoon program, sending care packages to a group of soldiers assigned to them.

"I use the project to reinforce kindness and patriotism,'' said Condray, who teaches sixth grade at Challenger Intermediate School in Goddard.

AdoptaPlatoon (www.adoptaplatoon.org) is a nationwide nonprofit organization that makes sure soldiers feel loved while overseas.

Condray said he began the project six years ago while he was a teacher in Great Bend. He is working on his second year of the project with his students in Goddard.

"A lot of the kids have veterans or soldiers in the family, or they know someone who is in the military," Condray said. "(It) feels like the perfect place to do this."

About 50 students will take part in this year's project.

"We try to match the number of soldiers with the number of kids I have," Condray said. "It's almost like a one-time pen pal the kids are writing to."

This year, for the first time since Condray began the project, the care packages will be sent to Iraq to a platoon from Kansas.

"We will start gathering things up between now and Thanksgiving, and send it off so the soldiers get it by Christmas," he said.

Condray said the items they gather include nonperishable foods, toiletries, cards and flags the students color.

"We want to give them things that can put a smile on their face, whether it be a football, playing cards or food," Condray said.

The project becomes a family effort in some ways, Condray said.

"The parents are very supportive and help out a lot with the shipping costs," he said.

Condray said he sees a huge response from the students and sees their patriotism grow.

"This project is important to me because the soldiers are risking their lives to save ours and our gifts are a good way to say thank you," said sixth-grader Ashton Hinkley.

Those interested in donating items for the AdoptaPlatoon program at Challenger can e-mail Condray at jcondray@goddardusd.com.