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Moms Group Collects Comfort Items For Military

Klint Lowry/SUNCOAST NEWS

Sophia Villanueva, left, and Courtney Burnett of New Port Richey give a homemade card a final inspection before declaring it ready to send off to the troops.

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By Klint  Lowry | The Suncoast News

Published: August 4, 2008

TARPON SPRINGS -- Sometime in the last few years, every member of Growing Great Moms group has had the experience of having a little bundle of joy come into their life. This past week, they were working so troops serving in Iraq would soon receive some joy in packages from home.

Group members and their youngsters were at Trinity Alliance Church, in Tarpon Springs, on Friday to put a personal touch on a collection of personal car items and comfort food all to be shipped to military personnel serving in Iraq.

With boxes and bags filled with donated items piled up and ready to go, the Growing Great Moms members put the kids to work, making homemade greeting cards and crosses with messages of encouragement of thanks.

"One of things they really wanted was homemade items," Growing Great Moms' founder and president, Carmen Burnett of New Port Richey, said. With only a week to gather up as much as they could, as they do with all their projects, the members threw themselves into the task.

Burnett started Growing Great Moms five years ago for stay-at-home mothers of young children. It is part social network, part support group, according to Burnett.

Rather than have qualifications for membership, the club expands with each new member to include working mothers, mothers of school-age children, dads who want to pitch in on projects and activities and of course, the children, around whom many of the group's activities are designed.

Growing Great Moms has about 55 member families, mostly in West Pasco and North Pinellas. It meets several times weekly for workshops, conversation and playtime for kids. It also holds monthly "mom's nights out," play days and field trips.

The group also takes the strength found in its numbers and holds numerous fundraisers and other community projects. Whenever possible, the group tries to find a way to involve the youngsters in these projects.

As a girl, Burnett watched her father's generous spirit at work, never turning away a stranger in need, constantly volunteering.

"So now that I'm a mom, the least I can do is pass that on to my kids," she said.

The husband of one of the group's members works for Transcontinental Title, which initiated the collection for the troops. To Moms members, this seemed a perfect project for the group. They set out to see how much they could gather from a list that included various snacks, personal hygiene items, writing materials and recreational toys.

They solicited public and business donations, then on Friday they added the homey touch, the children's artwork.

"I know the kids maybe can't really understand the concept of war," Burnett said. To make the occasion more meaningful, she went to a nearby Navy recruiting station and got Petty Officer Brendan Wehmann and Petty Officer Joseph Lawson to stop by.

Young children are extremely impressed when they see a person in uniform, Burnett said, and this would give them an idea of who they were making the cards for.

Wehmann sat with Jacob Cordeiro of Palm Harbor as he worked on a card, capturing his attention as he told him how being a sailor has taken him to distant, exotic lands.

"Like Massachusetts?" Jacob asked.

Well, yes, Wehmann told him, a sailor could go there, and to places even farther than that.

In fact, Wehmann's travels include two tours in Iraq, and he's been on the receiving end of CARE packages like the ones they were putting together at the church on Friday.

"This stuff definitely helps out in the long run," he said. "You can't get this stuff in Iraq. It's like a piece of home."

Although the items themselves are truly appreciated, Wehmann said, the value of things like the cards the kids add can't even be measured.

"It sends goose bumps," he said. "It makes you feel good when you get all these nice things. It boosts your morale; it makes the time go faster."

With this experience, Burnett said the group may decide to take up some kind of ongoing adopt-a-soldier program.

To find out more about Growing Great Moms, visit its href=http://www.growinggreatmoms.com> Web site.

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