Achieve Charter Students Collect 480 Pounds of Candy for Troops

Students at Achieve Charter Academy collected 480 pounds of candy to send to troops overseas through Operation Gratitude. The candy will be shipped out on Nov. 19.

This is the first year the students chose Operation Gratitude as their service project. Melissa Thorne, a community service teacher for seventh and eighth grade, said with the holiday season upon us, it made sense to express thanks to service men and women who are fighting for freedom each and every day.

“I, along with my students, felt that by collecting candy for our troops, we could in a small way express our gratitude for them and all they do,” Thorne said. “Having a piece of home, when you are a thousand miles away, is priceless.”

Each month, Achieve Charter Academy focuses on a virtue and for November it is gratitude. The students came together at the beginning of the trimester and agreed Operation Gratitude was a great service project to get involved with and show their appreciation for service members.

Eighth-grade student Katelin Puda said, “We are constantly protected by the soldiers and they show so much courage, it is amazing! Doing this project lets me give something back to them.”

Operation Gratitude, a California-based nonprofit, has been sending care packages to troops since 2003. The candy will be distributed into care packages that are shipped to members of the Armed Forces serving in foreign land and sea.