[caption id="attachment_4796" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Students from the Bridgeport Elementary School's "Tiger Time" after school program proudly show off their poster-size greeting card."]
DWA
Story and photo by David Altom, deputy director, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Jan. 3, 2011) --
Deployed Kentucky National Guard Troops sparked a patriotic spirit in some local children during the holiday season. Among all the donated Christmas treats and gifts, a poster-size greeting card was recently received from the children of Bridgeport Elementary School in Franklin County.
"It's been just wonderful to see so many children wanting to support our Soldiers and Airmen," said Kristen Arnett, Family Assistance Center coordinator. "We get requests all the time and we do our best to accommodate everyone who wants to help out."
The Bridgeport class went as far as to adopt three Kentucky Guard members serving in Afghanistan, sending them gifts and cards for the holidays.
"Some of the students had a Family connection to the Soldiers," said Arnett. "The kids really wanted to do something for them. You can see from the card that they put a lot of thought and effort into it."
There are nearly 500 Kentucky National Guard Soldiers and Airmen serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. More than 14,000 have been deployed since 2001.
For more information on the Kentucky National Guard Family Assistance Center call the FAC hotline at 1-800-372-7601.