Spanish Club has been encouraging students to donate unused products to be sent to Operation Homefront. The organization collects the products and turns them into care packages for the soldiers. The deadline to donate was Dec. 12, with the packages are expected to arrive to the troops by Christmas.

As leaders of the Spanish Club, Mrs. Jeanne Weber and Mrs. Carol Robinson had informed Spanish III and IV classes of the event in hopes of gaining more support and donations. While it was not a requirement to bring in items, the teachers offered a fiesta to the class with the most items collected.

This year, Mrs. Robinson’s fourth block Spanish IV students collected the most items, with the total average of the class being 772 items.

“I’m so very proud of my Spanish IVs for winning this year, because I didn’t know if they were going to be able to pull it off,” Robinson said. “The totals were all high, it’s an amazing thing that they did for the soldiers.”

Last year’s Christmas care packages collected over 2,000 items requested by the troops, with products ranging from toothpaste to sunscreen. “It’s amazing to see the inside of the [Operation Homefront] warehouse,” said Mrs. Robinson, “it’s just overwhelming seeing the amount of products donated.”

Spanish Club members gathered all the items on Dec. 12 and will be driving down to Operation Homefront on Dec. 14. There they will help the organization actually put the packages together, and count the total items they collected.

“The manager comes outside and explains how grateful the organization is for the donation, it’s really a gratifying feeling just knowing you’re helping for a good cause,” Robinson said. “The kids go inside the warehouse and grab shampoo, and snacks, and anything organization members advise them to put into care packages.”