Troops overseas focus of YMCA club members
High school students choose community service project
BY MELISSA KARSH Staff Writer

RED BANK - Area high school students are collecting supplies to send to troops stationed overseas as part of the Community YMCA's Leaders Club.

The club is for students in high school and aims to connect them to the community through service projects.

The 11 members of the club designated collecting goods to send to men and women serving overseas in the military as one of their first large-scale philanthropy projects this year.

"They [the students] were actually interested in what men and women were doing overseas and they felt like, 'What can we do to help?' " said Rosa Urena, the senior director for membership and market development for the CYMCA.

Urena added, "[The club members] felt maybe receiving something good would make [the troops] feel good and help to support [the troops] here as they are doing things for us [overseas]."

The Leaders Club is open to all, and meetings take place Thursdays at the CYMCA Family Health & Fitness Center located 166 Maple Ave.

"The high school kids come together once a week with an adviser; we discuss with them what it takes to do philanthropy and then they come up with a hands-on activity that mirrors what they discuss," said Urena.

Group members began collecting donations to send in packages overseas Feb. 1 and will continue through Feb. 14 at the Maple Avenue facility.

The students will also be holding collections in their neighborhoods and with local businesses in Red Bank, Middletown, Rumson, Fair Haven, Holmdel and Colts Neck as part of the service project, according to a Jan. 31 CYMCA press release.

"The kids have fliers in their specific neighborhoods in the radius that is close to them and they are posting those fliers," said Urena. "They have chosen a specific date and hour in which they will collect from the homes of their neighbors and businesses."

According to Urena, the group also decided what specific items they would be collecting from a longer list of items that was provided to them by the military.

Urena said some of the students felt that women in the armed services were overlooked when items are collected to be sent overseas, so they wanted to make sure to include those items in their list as well as keep up morale after the storm of Christmas packages had died down.

The items needed for the soldiers include lip balm, popcorn, Q-Tips in small packages, coffee packets, tea bags, new or used books, medical items such as aspirin and vitamins, eye drops, cereal in small boxes, small powdered drink mixes to add to water bottles, snack foods such as nuts or chips, white or green socks, protein and granola bars, shaving cream, wet wipes, magazines, gloves, tissues, scarves, stationery sets, decks of cards, mouthwash, hard candy, breath mints, sudoku or crossword puzzles, foot powder, deodorant and Beanie Babies.

The Leaders Club also works with students from age 12 and up who are not yet in high school in a more inclusive environment such as during school hours.

According to Urena, getting the youths involved in the club at a younger age helps them become more independent and acclimated with the other students involved.

Another goal of the club is to help youths develop positive life skills, teamwork and leadership, according to the release.

For more information about the project, contact Urena at (732) 671-5505, ext. 23.