A few good soldiers
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on September 22, 2017 5:50 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Rosewood High School JROTC students make a presentation Thursday during class about their Hurricane Harvey Relief Drive. They are collecting non-perishable foods, toiletries and clothing until Sept. 30.
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Malia Vance and Josie Drew tape together a box of gently used clothing to be delivered with supplies to flooding victims in Texas. Clothing for all ages are welcome along with non-perishable foods until Sept. 30 for the JROTC Hurricane Harvey Relief Drive.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
JROTC students from Rosewood High School form a line to take in a water donation from Wayne Opportunity Center Thursday that will go toward their Hurricane Harvey supplies drive. Wayne Opportunity Center was one of the local businesses that was flooded during Hurricane Matthew almost a year ago.
Never underestimate the power of a few good soldiers.
The Junior ROTC cadets at Rosewood High School watched, like the rest of the nation, as Hurricane Harvey unleashed its power onto Houston.
And like many who felt helpless in the aftermath, decided to do something about it.
They planned, and continue to implement, the "Hurricane Harvey Relief Drive," collecting financial donations and necessary items for the victims and families in Texas.
"If anyone wants to drop off items, they can come to the school Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m.," said their instructor, Sgt. Dinah Tootle. "The types of items we have been asking for will be bottled water, paper products, cleaning supplies and non-perishable items and canned food."
Shoes and gently used clothing -- from baby clothes to teens and adult sizes -- are also welcome, she said.
Cadet Jalen Munoz, a freshman in the program, took that to heart.
She said while recently cleaning her room, she was struck by all the clothes accumulated from even before her family moved here from New York six months ago.
"I thought, I need to get rid of these clothes," the 14-year-old said Wednesday. "I donated about four bags of clothes.
"It felt nice. I knew these clothes were going to get worn by kids who needed them. To me, they were clothes just stuffed in my closet. To them it would be clothes that they needed, a sign that things might get better from here."
Cadet Major Josie Drew, a junior, had her own personal motivation for wanting to participate in the project.
"I was thinking since we had Hurricane Matthew," she said of last year's hurricane that impacted North Carolina and this community. "I was heavily affected."
Her family was a victim of the intense flooding in the aftermath, she said. They lived downtown at the time, and there were no drives or telethons for her family.
So to reach out and take action was cathartic.
"For me, it's like a great deed," she said of the school drive. "I just really would love to help others. That's how I was raised."
Her own family, one year later, is doing better, she added. They now live in Princeton.
Lt. Col. Jamaal Faison, a senior and commander of the student military program, also was affected by the news of recent hurricanes, but it all started with the one in Houston.
"I saw the damage that happened," he said. "We just wanted to do something that helps them out."
The drive kicked off Aug. 28 and runs through Sept. 28. So far, the JROTC has collected in excess of 33 boxes, plus between 10 and 12 cases of water, said George Joseph, Tootle's assistant.
The student's acts of "selfless service" have been impressive, Tootle said.
"They came to me with the idea," she said. "They have boxed, sorted and packed things up.
"Thursday is the last day but this project could go on and on."
Sgt. Major Joseph Thurman, an 11th grader, said this has been an awesome experience.
"The reason I think it's important is because if it was us in that situation, we would want them to help us, too," he said.
His parents, Theresa and Joseph Thurman, members of the school's Booster Club, will be helping to deliver the items to Houston once all the donations are collected and boxed up.
And, Faison said, he has been in touch with a JROTC group at Waltrip High School in Houston.
"We have been talking about how we're going to send this to the school and (the instructor) is going to get all his cadets to go around the city and distribute them," he said.
The RHS group even put together a letter to send with the donation, which said, in part, "The majority of us are just sending supplies because it's good to do something for the people of Texas instead of sitting there and watch(ing) them suffer from something that couldn't be prevented."
The letter also explained that the JROTC's motto is "To Motivate Young People to be Better Citizens."
Justin Bruyer, their assistant principal, said it was refreshing to see youth take the lead on such an effort without being asked.
"The kids wanted to do this," he said. "That's the goose bump feeling that what we're doing is working.
"For the kids to be sensitive, generous and dedicated on the weekends, to collect this stuff and box it. This is a great opportunity for them to learn citizenship, generosity and sympathy."