Applegate showcase displays pride in America’s soldiers

Applegate showcase displays
pride in America’s soldiers
By linda denicola
Staff Writer

Amanda Leone

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — Amanda Leone, a fifth-grader at the C. Richard Applegate School, wanted to do something to ease the pain of children, like herself, who have a parent serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Her father, Gerald Leone, was deployed on March 8 as part of the 108th ARW National Guard at McGuire Air Force Base. Both Amanda and her mother are active in the Family Readiness Center on base so they knew there were many children experiencing the same loss of a parent that Amanda had to accept.

Through her initiative, she ignited the spirit of patriotism at her school and started a program called Operation Teddy Bear, said Mimi Luhman, a guidance counselor at the Applegate School.

"Amanda came up with the idea of collecting teddy bears and keeping them in the showcase at the school until they could be distributed," the counselor said.

Luhman said Principal Barbara Longo liked the idea and had a letter sent to parents telling them what the project was all about.

"We did not expect 457 teddy bears to arrive," Luhman said, adding that Amanda and her mother took them to McGuire and distributed them to the children who have parents deployed overseas.

"Barbara Longo and myself thought it was wonderful to have those bears in there. We thought about what we could do to continue the patriotic theme. After we took them out, we sent out a letter to all of the students that have, or have had, parents in the service and asked them to send in a photo. I typed out labels so that everyone is identified. Now we have a huge display with pictures of people from World War I to now," Luhman said. "It was Amanda’s desire to help youngsters like herself who had their parents taken away that was the impetus for what followed."

Luhman said she and Longo were amazed at how many children and parents came in with pictures and other items.

"There’s a bugle and hat from World War I that belonged to the great-grandfather of one of the teachers. She also found her father’s dog tags and I found my mother’s dog tags. My mother was a WAC who served in India," the guidance counselor said.

According to Luhman, there is a former student who is serving in Iraq.

"A neighbor brought in his picture. So even people who don’t have children in the school district have heard about it and are participating," she said.

Amanda wrote a poem that is included in the display:

The students of C.R. Applegate School are sending these bears

Along with them go our heartfelt prayers.

That your loved one whose been sent away

Will be coming home very soon one day.

Be so very proud of what they do

Americans they are, so very true

We salute you.

In addition to the 57 photographs in the display, there are patriotic bears and angel bears, a poster-size flag with Amanda’s poem on it, and a picture showing all of the school’s employees and students.

Amanda’s generosity encouraged other acts of service within the school, Luhman said.

The projects included writing letters to the soldiers, collecting specialty items to send to the military personnel and promoting the concept of positive character during daily student messages.