Taking care of soldiers taking care of business
Brownie Troop 4065 holding a letter sent from Captain Bryce Thurman. (Front Row, left to right) Kristin Finney, Madelyn Klinkerman, Morgan Wright, Sophia Pangalos, Zaydee Hyman, Madelon Larson and Ally Shadwick. (Back Row, left to right) Juliette Lord, Sarah Lombardi, Lauren Champine, Avarie Perovich, Sophia Smoldt, Mallory Schuster and Hanna Roeser.
Born after September 11, 2001, the 2nd grade Buffalo Ridge Elementary girls of Brownie Troop #4065 know only a world where our nation’s military engages terrorism overseas on the nightly news.
Troop leaders Kami Wright and Jennifer Meinert-Larson saw an opportunity for their scouts to push up their sleeves and support the morale of a local soldier throughout the school year. Together with the girls and their families, they adopted Army Captain Bryce Thurman.
Thurman is from Parker and was deployed to Kunduz, Afghanistan last year. He was somewhat caught by surprise at the thought of 14 Brownies caring for him. As a local Eagle Scout, Thurman had always been affiliated with Colorado’s scouting world, but his new connection with the girl scouts was a first.
The girls sent letters, made pictures that say “thank you” and “America loves you” and gathered items for Christmas care packages that included huge portions of their Halloween Trick-or-Treating candy from around the neighborhood. Everything from foot powder to DVDs to clean pillowcases was sent and the girls can now find Afghanistan easily on a map. Thurman will be visiting the girls at one of their meetings after his return home to Colorado.
Thousands of American military men and women are hoping to be “adopted” through great websites that make the connection quick and easy. While most of our brave military have friends and family who care the way Troop 4065 does, some just don’t have the support system back home that one would expect.
To explore adopting military personnel, go to www.soldiersangels.com or www.hugsforsoldiers.org. Though both of these say ‘soldiers’ in the address, all branches and positions of our Armed Forces are included.
Captain Bryce Thurman of Parker, CO (Third from Left), standing with fellow Army Officers holding care packages from the families of Troop 4065.
