Randolph Elementary third grader Hannah Gould has on her own flight suit while packing materials for Iraq. Submitted photo

While their mothers or fathers are serving the country in Iraq or Afghanistan, some two dozen students at Randolph Elementary School are making their own contributions to the effort by sending shoes to the children of those war-torn countries.

More than 30 youngsters with parents serving abroad are part of a group called “We Serve, Too” and the members get together for meetings at least once monthly. Foremost on their agendas is performing duties that benefit others.

“We Serve, Too” has been made possible through an $8,390 grant from the Texas Resources for Iraq-Afghanistan Deployment (TRIAD) Fund administered by the San Antonio Area Foundation. The grant will fund a year’s operation of the club.

“The mission of our group is to provide additional support and comfort to the children who have an active duty parent deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan,” said Dana Sommers, third-grade teacher at Randolph Elementary and sponsor of “We Serve, Too.”

Sommers has a son who has been fighting in Iraq, so she can relate to some of the emotions that the youngsters are facing.

The group is making a public appeal for financial assistance for one of its first projects. The youngsters worked successfully and gathered some 400 pairs of shoes that are being sent to children in Iraq, but mailing charges for the shoes overseas is expensive, according to Sommers. “We hope that people will make contributions to help defray the costs of us sending the packages,” she added.

Already, some 100 pairs of shoes have been sent but there are now several hundred pair awaiting sufficient funds for mailing. Contributions can be made to Randolph Elementary and the “We Serve, Too” program.

Because of the success in gathering 350 to 400 pairs of shoes for Iraqi children, the Randolph students have now begun a “Sock It to the Shoes” drive to assemble donated gently used or new socks to send with the shoes. There is a drop-off box in the front hall of the school for anyone wishing to participate

Both the shoes and socks will be sent to a Randolph physician’s assistant who is deployed to Baghdad. His two sons are members of the “We Serve, Too” club at Randolph, and he asked for the shoes for the children because they are suffering injuries going barefoot and suffering complications from infections after injuries.

Shoes are also being sent to another Randolph airman in Afghanistan for distribution in that country. The group has also crafted and sent ornaments for a Christmas tree at the Fisher House at Brooke Army Medical Center.

Future club activities will include making stuffed teddy bears containing a recording of their deployed parent with a personal message to them on an enclosed sound card.

“It’s important to keep these youngsters active and involved plus know that others care about them and the contributions of their mother and fathers overseas,” Sommers said. “The grant we received from the TRIAD through the San Antonio Areas Foundation has helped us make this venture possible.”

The club will function throughout the school year.