Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Felix Fimbres | From left to right: Staff Sgt. Christina Hippenbecker, Maye Davis, Madelaine Katz,...... read more read more
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- While most teenagers are worried about what they are getting for Christmas, a small but growing number of them are becoming more interested in the kids who might not be getting any toys this year. That’s because teens like Logan Herrera and Krunal Amin are joining paratroopers from Fort Bragg to spread holiday cheer to the local community in the name of the 14th Annual Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop.
It may seem like an odd mix at first, but it’s obvious that the Christmas spirit doesn’t care if you wear a uniform or are studying calculus.
The two students attend school at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, N.C., and got the Toy Drop bug through Herrera’s father and grandfather who both served in the Army and have been supporters of the operation.
“I actually wanted to see the operation last year, but I couldn’t,” said Herrera who is organizing the effort at the school. “So I thought it would be a wonderful thing to do school wide this year.”
In order to get the ball rolling, Herrera invited Staff Sgt. Christina Hipenbecker, air coordinator and primary jumpmaster for Operation Toy Drop, to visit the NCSSM campus in Durham and talk about Operation Toy Drop and the impact it has on the community.
Hipenbecker and a cadre of student body representatives, set up shop in a busy hallway of the school and began talking up Operations Toy Drop. Many of the students Hipenbecker talked to were surprised that the Army was running such a project, and also excited for the chance to be a part of it. Many of them even asked what sort of toys were needed most. Hipenbecker explained that a lot of toys get donated for boys and not a lot for young and teenage girls.
“I know exactly where to go and what I’m going to get already,” said one of the students enthusiastically before running down a laundry list of ideas.
The enthusiasm was infectious, and it’s been a word of mouth campaign that has sparked a huge interest on campus.
NCSSM is a unique residential high school whose student body is comprised of teens from each county in North Carolina.
“We’re members of two communities, NCSSM in Durham and then our hometown, so it gives us an extra opportunity to reach out,” said Herrera.
And this effect has already materialized in Harrisburg, N.C., near Herrera’s hometown, where the Hickory Ridge High School Band has already held an Operation Toy Drop concert to raise awareness and collect toys.
NCSSM and Hickory Ridge High are two of more than a dozen schools, universities, and area businesses that have adopted Operation Toy Drop including Fayetteville State University and the Fayetteville FireAntz, the local hockey team. Serving the local community has been one of the major tenants of Operation Toy Drop since Sgt. 1st Class Randy Oler started it in 1998.
Even though 2011 marks the first year Operation Toy Drop will go coast to coast, the event will remain small-community centered thanks to the unique nature of it’s host, U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command. The event gives the military and the civilian community the opportunity to help Families in need over the holiday season. Paratroopers bring an unwrapped toy to donate in exchange for the opportunity to get allied jump wings from around the world. This year’s event will host allied jumpmasters from 11 countries.
USACAPOC is made up of nearly 13,000 Army Reserve Soldiers who are very much a part of their local community in 30 states and in Puerto Rico. Seven units in five states are spearheading their own Operation Toy Drop events to raise and deliver new toys to kids who might otherwise be forgotten.
“One of the hardest things for us is actually finding out who needs the toys,” said Hipenbecker while talking with Amin about possible roles NCSSM could play in Operation Toy Drop. She challenged them to help USACAPOC locate kids who might otherwise not have a happy Christmas.
NCSSM might be perfectly suited to help expand Operation Toy Drop, having displayed an ability to perform monumental tasks already.
“We have already broken the world record for most food collected, so we definitely love to make an impact on our community,” explained Amin. “So it really means a lot to each of us individually to be able to put a smile on a child’s face.
“We’re having a hall-by-hall competition (for toys),” he said. “The winners will have the opportunity to come down to Fort Bragg and participate in Toy Drop’s airborne refresher training, which has really excited a lot of kids” Amin explained.
“I definitely think students would donate regardless of the prize,” added Herrera. “Service is one of the qualities we look for in applicants and over the summer we are required to perform over 60 hours of community service a year to graduate, so it’s very much a part of NCSSM’s culture,” he explained.
“Our school is really excited about service and we really like to get involved, so it was a great opportunity right around Christmas time,” said Amin, who is a senior.
Keeping the torch going is one of Herrera’s goals.
“I will be at the school next year so I can continue it next year and really ingrain it in the culture and I definitely foresee it continuing in the future,” said Herrera.
“Even if we collected one toy, just making that one kid smile would be enough for me,” smiled Amin. “That’s incentive enough.”
The 14th Annual Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop is scheduled, Dec. 10, on Sicily Drop Zone, at 7:30 a.m., and promises to be bigger and better, allowing more toys to be given to Families in need. Paratroopers wishing to participate need to bring an unwrapped, brand new toy to Green Ramp, Pope Field, Dec. 9, at 8 a.m., during the parachute lottery in order to earn the opportunity to jump for foreign jump wings from Ukraine, Uruguay, Cambodia and eight other countries participating this year.
For more information about donating toys, attending the event, or locations of toy donation collection boxes, visit www.optoydrop.net. Operation Toy Drop is also on Facebook.
Editors note: This is part three of a multi-story series that will explain what Operation Toy Drop is, who started it, and the people who make the event happen year after year. This week’s topic features the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham and the teens who decided to help others in need.
| Date Taken: | 11.24.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 12.13.2011 11:59 |
| Story ID: | 81299 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 191 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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