Sweet extras for the soldiers

Many benefit as Weston youths send candy to troops

JODI HILTON FOR THE BOSTON GLOBERikki Conley (left) and Ann Marie Kreft said Weston children have donated nearly 3,000 pounds of candy to soldiers abroad. (JODI HILTON FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE)

WESTON - When Ann Marie Kreft's young son Gus was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes last fall, Halloween suddenly morphed from a carefree holiday to a candy-coated quandary.

But as she talked it over with her friend Rikki Conley, who has two diabetic children, Kreft hit upon an idea: Because their kids could consume only limited amounts of candy and only under certain circumstances, why not send their surplus sweets to a family friend who had recently been deployed to Iraq, and perhaps he could share them with other soldiers?

And then: Why not see if their children's classmates might want to do the same?

It turned out the answer was yes - and then some. In an outpouring of youthful generosity that continued to have unexpected spin-off effects last week, students at Weston's three elementary schools have reached into their Halloween stashes and donated nearly 3,000 pounds of candy for US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have given up recess to help pack the candy into large boxes, but not before penning notes and drawings for the soldiers.

The soldiers on the receiving end have, in turn, distributed much of the candy to youngsters in Iraq, passing out M&Ms and Snickers bars on the roads to and from Baghdad, and in poverty-stricken villages in Afghanistan's Zabul province.

For students in affluent Weston, it has been a different and eye-opening sort of education to see the notes and pictures soldiers have sent back, describing or depicting the joy their donated treats brought to children who, in many cases, live in mud huts with dirt floors, no electricity, and little clean water.

"I was happy when I knew they were giving candy to some kids in Afghanistan,"' said Afnaan Qureshi, a 7-year-old first-grader at Woodland School whose father is from Pakistan. "I knew there was a war there, and they're giving them something to eat. And I think they're liking it."

Last Wednesday, in an illustration of how the children's efforts continue to reverberate in surprising ways, a shipment of golf clubs, balls, and tees began making its way to Baghdad. After learning of the candy campaign, an Army sergeant contacted Kreft and told her he would love to get some golf equipment for his soldiers, who are attempting to build a small putting course and a driving range near one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces in Baghdad. Kreft mentioned it to fellow Weston resident Tom Gold, who told Belmont Country Club officials about it, and the club donated the equipment.

Candy and golf clubs might seem like frivolous commodities, but they can help buoy a soldier's spirits in a war zone. Air Force Captain Tyrone Hill, who was part of a 50-member team that helped train Iraqi security forces in Baghdad, said via e-mail that when two dozen boxes of candy arrived last year, "We ripped the boxes open [and] the bartering started immediately, 'I'll trade you three Tootsie Rolls for five butterscotch!' " The unit's mood was further bolstered, he said, when they read the notes from the Weston students.

Soldiers gave some of the treats to Iraqi translators and clerks to bring home to their children. As their convoys passed through Iraq, soldiers tossed candy to children who were gathered on the side of the road in hopes of exactly that outcome.

"When you are that poor, a little gift like a bag of Skittles is a delightfully inexpensive way to lift a child's spirits," Hill wrote. "Whether it was a sudden gleam in their eyes or a wild waving of the hand as we drove past, the children gave us confidence that we were performing an intangible good."

Major Craig Matsuda, who heads a group of American combat advisers that operates alongside an Afghan infantry battalion, described a similar reaction. Matsuda said via e-mail that his unit distributed some of the candy from Weston to children in villages where, he said, their living conditions are "heartbreaking."

"Candy is a very rare treat for the children in the villages," Matsuda wrote. "Their smiles and excitement demonstrate that."

There is a matching sense of excitement in Weston. Last year, the goal of "Treats for the Troops" was modest: Collect some candy, send it to Kreft's friend, and possibly raise awareness of diabetes along the way. "We thought we were just going to have three boxes of candy," Kreft said, shaking her head. "We had no idea."

Alerted of the effort by their principals, students at all three of Weston's elementary schools - Woodland, Country, and Field - began lugging bags of candy to school along with their books. By the end of the first day in November 2007, large barrels at all three schools were overflowing.

"It was almost a badge of honor, that the kids would give up their candy," Conley said.

Within a week, Conley's garage was bursting with more than 1,000 pounds of candy, along with many notes that students had penned to soldiers, with such messages as: "You are being remembered and I pray for your safety. May you be home soon"; "Sending you truckloads of Love and Appreciation!" and "I hope you like my candy and I hope you have a good day." Kreft and Conley mailed some of the candy to Kreft's friend in Baghdad, and he distributed it to wounded soldiers in hospitals. The two women also asked around for the names of other soldiers stationed abroad.

"One child gave us the name of his sister's teacher's husband," Kreft said. "People were giving us names from everywhere."

Ultimately, the women sent 90 boxes of candy to military units in Iraq and Afghanistan, paying the $800 shipping costs out of their own pockets.

And this year?

"This year just went nuts," Kreft said. "It got so big. It seems like it just keeps rolling into something else and something else and something else."

The students threw themselves into the effort with even more fervor the second time around. Matt Lucey, the principal of the Field School, said one youngster paused while packing a box and said to him, in tones that mingled pride and wonderment: "The next person who touches this candy will be overseas, and it will be a big surprise to them."

Parents helped pack the boxes along with their children, and also contributed $1,100, which covered most of the shipping costs. When Kreft's postal carrier learned of the effort, she arranged for postal trucks to pick up the packages at the schools. Ultimately, it added up to 144 boxes, containing 1,700 pounds of candy.

Senator John Kerry's office put Kreft and Conley in touch with Operation Troop Support, a Danvers-based nonprofit organization that sends care packages to soldiers. This year, soldiers in 16 military units received candy from the three schools.

Educators moved to capitalize on a doozy of a teachable moment. They held assemblies where teachers read e-mails from the soldiers and showed students the pictures they sent from Iraq and Afghanistan. From there, teachers branched out into discussions of the sacrifices made by American servicemen and women. In a bid to help youngsters develop a global perspective, they moved beyond basic geography lessons to talk about cultural differences, and they seized the opportunity to, in the words of Stephen Shaw, principal of Country School, "teach children about their responsibility to their community and to the larger community."

Judging by their response the past two Halloweens, many of the students have aced that test. For young Afnaan Qureshi, it's just common sense. After all, he noted, "We already have a lot of candy."

Don Aucoin can be reached at aucoin@globe.com.