Things have been slow for Operation Coffee Cup. The economy has taken its toll on everyone.

Just this week we received notice from one of our major contributors that they will no longer be making donations to us. This takes away a large portion of what we send to the soldiers. We can only hope that things pick up for them soon, and they can resume their contributions. Otherwise we must rely on individuals and ourselves to see that our men and women continue to receive items from home.

A big thank you goes out to Lisa Montgomery and The Academy for Little People in Chickamauga. They came through again this week with donations from the children and their families for the soldiers with their Thanks for Troops program. They held their original collection drive in March of this year, and then again this past month. The children were so excited that they could do something for the soldiers. They made many posters and letters and collected items so that we could send boxes out this week. One of their main projects was to get supplies for a K-9 bomb sniffing dog. The dog’s name is Temper. Temper’s box was mailed right away. Thus far we have mailed out 8 boxes from their donations. A big salute goes to The Academy of Little People!

Folks, unless you have had a soldier on foreign soil you cannot imagine what these soldiers and their families go through while they are gone. We need to continue to send these boxes so that they know they are appreciated and are not forgotten. I am amazed that people think this war is not necessary, and no one cares enough about the soldiers in it to just send them a small gift from home. After all, they are there protecting all of us. Maybe in a future chat, I will share with you some of the disappointing situations that we have found ourselves in to try to keep Operation Coffee Cup going for the soldiers.

We received a call this week from the Ladies Auxiliary of the American Legion in Rossville, wanting to give out food baskets to some of our local soldier’s families for Thanksgiving. We have furnished them with the names, and they will be taking care of that matter.

We would like to begin immediately collecting items for Christmas boxes. It is our desire that each soldier on our mailing list receives enough Christmas stockings, and things to fill them, so that each soldier in his platoon can have a good Christmas. We encourage you to take part in this.

Roger Sherrill lives in Ringgold. He can be reached by email at halojumper@charter.net or by phone at 706-937-3918. You can also become a fan of Operation Coffee Cup on Facebook.