The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Deployed U.S. troops will receive some special treats soon, thanks to the efforts of some Franklin Township children.
The children participated in the monthly “All Together Now: A Community of Kindness” program held at the Franklin Township Library.
This is the second year that the “All Together Now” program incorporated the “Treats For Troops” program, said Lana Abbott, who heads the library’s Children’s Department.
The collection is held a week or two after Halloween, Abbott said.
Candy is collected in a box, and the participating kids make cards to include in the package.
“We have the kids make cards that we have pre-written, like, thank you for serving our country, and the kids draw on the back,” she said. “They make word searches or mazes or tic-tac-toe or just color pictures.”
The candy and cards are then taken to a collection point for the Soldiers’ Angels organization, which handles the distribution, Abbott said.
“This is our second year, but last year we did Operation Shoebox, which this year didn’t seem to be collecting the candy, so that’s why I looked for a different group,” she said. “And this group was collecting.”
The All Together Now program began “when we had a summer of kindness about two summers ago for our summer reading,” she said.
The events help participating youth get service hours needed for by the students, she said.
“So if they come to the program, they get 30 minutes of service,” she said. “And if they’re littler, or in middle school, National Junior Honor Society needs it too.” “
“We try to tell the families like it’s you get a little extra,” Abbott said.
