Leitersburg Ruritan, Smithsburg seventh-graders collect items for troops

LEITERSBURG — More than 1,000 items were collected recently by seventh-graders at Smithsburg Middle School as part of a community service project honoring the military and its veterans.

It was a joint project with the Leitersburg Ruritan Club Citizenship and Patriotism Committee.  

The students packed 15, 20-pound boxes which were sent to a military police unit serving in Iraq.  

The boxes contained snacks, toiletries, puzzle books, a copy of The Herald-Mail, an American flag and other items.

Five large cases of items, which were too heavy or fragile to mail, were taken by the Leitersburg Ruritan Club to the Wounded Warrior Program at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. The hospital was especially pleased to receive more than 200 magazines, as well as snacks and toiletries.  

The Smithsburg Middle seventh grade was awarded the Walter Reed Command Sergeant Major’s coin for their generosity and patriotism.