Cards of destiny event set for Saturday at township hall
By William Zilke, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: November 20, 2008
South Middle School eighth-grader Destiny Eadie will be holding a "Sign A Card For Our Troops" event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday in the craft room at Van Buren Township Hall, 46425 Tyler Road.
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The event will serve as a drop off point for cards collected on behalf of Cards from Destiny.
Cards and coloring pages will be available to sign or color while you visit. Light refreshments will be served.
Personal care items to go into care packages for the troops will also be collected at Destiny's last event of the year.
This is the third year the indefatigable middle school student has worked to ensure the troops in harm's way in the War on Terrorism know they're missed and appreciated back home.
"In 2005 a co-worker of my dad's came to our house. I was 10-years-old," she said. "He told me that his son, Cody Green was serving in Kirkuk, Iraq.
Eadie asked if he thought Cody might like a Christmas card from her, even if his son had never met her.
"I was told to go to the anysoldier.com Web site and look up his name to get his address which I did," she said.
Anysoldier.com is a Web site where servicemen and women can leave postings of things that they need while serving away from home.
"I read Cody's listing and then some of the others," she said.
"It didn't take long to realize that they were doing without a lot of things like shampoo and soap but what they really needed was cards and letters from home."
Destiny had $20 saved from babysitting and decided to buy cards for her friends to sign.
"I was able to collect 578 in three weeks," she said. "Cody's family mailed those out to him for him to distribute on his base."
In 2006 her goal was to send 2,000 cards. With help from her family and people in the tri- community area she was able to send an astounding 3,600.
"In 2007 my goal was to send 4,000 and I sent 7,406," she said.
Her Cards from Destiny continues to grow every day.
The amazing thing about her program is that the student and her family rely on donations of cards, pens and stamps from this very giving community.
"I have had the opportunity to work with the Plymouth United Way and the Vietnam Veterans of Washtenaw County," she said. "I was made an honorary Marine in Dec. 2007 for my efforts supporting the troops.
"I appreciate the efforts of our men and women serving our country now and those who have served in the past so that I can enjoy the freedom we have in the United States of America."
While the modest and shy 13-year-old's grass roots movement has been done as a heartfelt motion whose reward is in the giving, she has been getting some very serious and well-deserved recognition.
While maintaining a 3.857 grade average as a member of the National Junior Honor Society, she has received a Youth Leadership Award from the Plymouth/ Canton United Way and helped organize Armed Forces night with that organization and the Plymouth Whalers and was this year's grand marshal in the Ypsilanti Fourth of July parade.
She also was recognized by the Multinational Force- Iraq Command Sergeant Major Jeffrey Millinger with a flag flown in her honor and was recognized by the Command Security Transition Command, Afghanistan by Major General Robert Cone with another flag flown in her honor at Camp Eggers in Kabul.
In the past three years she has sent 11,000 cards to our service members.
At Saturday's event, that jolly old elf Santa will make an appearance.
If you have extra cards, pens or stamps contact Destiny at cardsfordestiny.com.
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