Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity held its third biannual "Bringing Home to the Troops" donation drive this week in the midst of other events marking the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war.
"Bringing Home to the Troops" was the brainchild of Bill Quinn, a senior in the Kogod School of Business and a member of the fraternity. He said he got the idea in the spring of his junior year after reading an ESPN article about a Major League Baseball player who had just served a tour in Iraq.
"People were going up to the baseball player and shaking his hand and thanking him for what he had done for them," Quinn said. "A hand shake and a thank you go a long way but, sadly, a lot of Americans think that is the extent of what they can do for the troops."
Quinn said he started to research the idea of sending care packages to Iraq. The U.S. Postal Service Web site listed what could be in the packages, and Anysoldier.org showed posts by servicemen and their families that requested both items that the servicemen needed as well as those they wanted, he said.
"I decided to try and stay away from shampoo and toiletries and stick with the little things that they cannot get over there but are really from home - beef jerky, Sour Patch Kids, Black and Mild cigars," Quinn said.
Last spring, Quinn and several of his fraternity brothers sent 22 packages to 11 servicemen, he said. The receiving servicemen were friends or family members of friends. Pike sent each serviceman two packages so their units as a whole would also benefit from the care packages.
Two semesters later, the drive is a growing enterprise with the fraternity continuing its efforts to aid the troops, Quinn said. Pike is collecting items such as candy, CDs, DVDs, food, letters of encouragement and other miscellaneous items such as batteries and pre-paid phone cards. They are also accepting financial contributions. The money will go toward buying the flat rate USP boxes in which the care packages are shipped, according to Quinn.
Pike tabled on the quad Tuesday and yesterday. They will continue to table today and into next week.
