Some TLC for the troops

OES-SOS: Is that shorthand? Morse Code?

By Susan Williams

IU Bloomington—Enrollment services staff members (left to right) Nancy Brooks, Marni Rheinhardt, Lisa Scully and Melissa Myers fill boxes to send to troops in Iraq.

The first packages of TLC will soon go out from OES-SOS, thanks to a few staffers at IUB.

Translated, that would be: boxes containing popular and necessary items will be sent any day now to approximately 20 members of the Indiana University Bloomington Office of Enrollment Services’ (OES) family and friends who have been called to active military duty. Special packages also will go to 41 IU Bloomington students who have withdrawn from school to do Uncle Sam’s bidding.

“We have discussed for several weeks how we could support OES family and friends who are in the U.S. military and also the IU students who have had to withdraw from school because of active military duty,” said Nancy Brooks of OES. “As each day passes, we find out more OES staff have family and friends impacted by this. We wanted some way to make their time away from home, away from loved ones and away from things they hold dear, a bit more manageable. We’re not making a statement for or against war; we’re simply supporting our OES family and friends who are affected by it.”

IU Kokomo—Jerrilyn Williams (at left in striped shirt) and her classmates from Topics in Social Sciences collected toiletries, candy and other supplies to send to Williams’ cousin, Larry Sparks, who is stationed in Iraq serving with the U.S. Army.

OES staff have organized to collect items for the project and cash donations to purchase additional supplies and to cover mailing costs. Within each OES office, a point person has been designated to collect the names of family members and friends who have been called to duty, and collection boxes are waiting to receive donated items.

In student packages, along with items such as batteries, sunscreen, zipper storage bags, playing cards and letters, IU logo items donated by the IU Alumni Association, the IU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, the IU Bookstore, the IU Foundation, the IU Eye Care Center and the IU Visitors Center will be included.

“All of the packages will include a letter on behalf of the OES staff, and we also welcome any pictures and drawings from children as donations,” said Brooks.

To donate to the project, or for additional information, contact any of the representatives mentioned at left.

TLC OES-SOS office representatives contact information

Office of Admissions, Marni Rheinhardt (mbassich@indiana.edu);

Office of Student Financial Assistance, Melissa Myers (myersm@indiana.edu);

Office of Orientation Programs, Megan Ray, (meray@indiana.edu)

Office of the Registrar, Linda Gales (lgales@indiana.edu) and Debbie Stoute (dstoute@indiana.edu).

Berkley Ridenhour (beridenh@indiana.edu) and Dot Kemp (dkemp@indiana.edu) are representing IU students apart from other care package recipients due to student privacy issues.

For a list of donation ideas for soldiers, go to:

http://homepages.indiana.edu/042503/text/donations.html