Sociology students assembling care packages for USS Cole sailors

salvetoday Posted On December 4, 2012
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As part of a service project, students in Mea Simanski’s introductory sociology class will assemble about 250 Christmas care packages and ship them to U.S. Navy sailors stationed aboard the USS Cole, the guided-missile destroyer currently deployed in the Mediterranean Sea.

The students are launching a campaign to collect gift donations and will assemble the packages from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6 in the Ochre Court state dining room. Members of the Salve Regina community are invited to drop off gift items (see suggested list below) throughout the day.

Note cards and paper will be available for people to hand-write personalized thank-you messages for the service personnel, and student volunteers will individually assemble the 250 boxes for shipment. Representatives from the U.S. Navy War College have been invited to assist with the care packages project.

Simanski and her students are working directly with Lt. j.g. Briana Wildemann, a 2005 Middletown High School graduate who is currently serving as the morale, welfare and recreation officer aboard the USS Cole.

“This service learning project is a great way to give back to the men and women serving our country,” Casey Ansaldi ’16 said. “It’s hard for them to be away from their families during the holiday, and hopefully these care packages will make them smile.”

This isn’t the first year Simanski and her students have sent care packages to active military personnel overseas. Last year, students sent care packages to U.S. Marines deployed in an undisclosed location; in 2010, they sent care packages to soldiers serving in Afghanistan for the holidays; and in 2009, students worked with local disabled adults to create care packages for soldiers serving in Iraq.

“My sociology students have studied humans in social contexts extensively for the last three months and were able to quickly embrace this service project,” Simanski said. “They were able to discuss the sociological concepts of anomie and isolation that might arise when human rituals of celebration and familial social bonds are disrupted by extended deployment during the holiday season.”

Suggested items for donation include:

  • Gum
  • Healthy snacks (granola, breakfast bars, dried fruit)
  • Oatmeal
  • Candy (gummy bears, Swedish fish, peanut butter M&Ms, mini-size candy bars)
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Energy drinks
  • VIA Starbucks coffee packs
  • Tuna packets
  • Microwave food (Ramen, easy-mac, popcorn)
  • Crystal Light/Propel drink packs
  • Flavored tea
  • Jerky and Slim Jims
  • Hot sauces
  • Hot chocolate
  • Apple cider
  • Coffee and flavored creamers
  • Toiletries
  • Razors
  • Shave gel
  • Hand soap
  • Smell good lotions
  • Easy floss sticks
  • Hair ties
  • Fun nail polish
  • Chapstick/lip balm
  • Hand sanitizer (standard and/or fruity smelling)
  • Black boot socks
  • Air fresheners (not requiring plug in)
  • Laundry detergent packets (non liquid)
  • Blue Hanes T-Shirts
  • Holiday gear (Christmas, New Years)
  • Magazines/books
  • Stationary and stamps
  • Pens (black)
  • Sudoku and crossword books
  • Hand and feet warmers
  • Black gloves
  • Black ear warmers
  • Gift cards (Amazon, iTunes, GNC, VISA pre-paid)