Des Moines Register.com
08-15-06
Visitors can e-mail soldiers overseas from Fair laptops
By JERRY PERKINS
REGISTER FARM EDITOR
Visitors to the 4-H Building at the Iowa State Fair can send an e-mail message to
U.S. soldiers deployed overseas.
Four laptop computers see a steady stream of e-mailers who want to send a
photo and a message to a particular soldier or sailor or who want to post a
message on a general Web site where Iowa military personnel can connect with
the State Fair.
Alissa Cook, an intern working with Iowa State University Extension's 4-H
program, said the e-mail connection at the fair is part of 4-H's "Operation Military
Kids."
The program's goal is to reach out to children 17 years old and younger who
have a parent serving in the U.S. military. Cook said 1,232 children in Iowa fit
that profile.
4-H runs an after-school program for the military children and furnishes "Hero
Packs" for elementary-age children. The packs contain stationery, books and
disposable cameras, so children can send photos and notes to their parents.
For middle school and high school students, a program called "Speak out for
Military Kids" encourages the students to talk to groups about the needs of the
children of military men and women. A six-day camp for military children also
takes place at the 4-H camp near Madrid.
"The purpose (of the e-mail) is to bring the fair to the soldiers, so they can feel
some connection with home," Cook said. "The kids tell them what they are doing
at the fair."
About 75 to 100 messages are going out a day, said Rachel McCulloh of De Witt,
an Iowa State University student who also is working for 4-H as an intern.
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