Music and the smell of freshly baked cookies welcomed students to the kitchen of Regis Hall Friday afternoon, where rows of deodorant, shampoo and toothpaste were linined up.
Gabriel Rojas ’09, an RA in Regis, organized the quad-wide drive as an RA program for March in which he and residents collected items for care packages that will be sent to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“No matter how much was donated, and no matter how much is donated through various programs nationally, it will never be enough to thank those overseas fully,” said Rojas.
A variety of items were donated, ranging from essentials such as toilet paper, toothbrushes, razors and soap to granola bars, playing cards, lollipops and Doritos. Rojas noted the generosity of students who were not bringing merely Stop ‘ Shop-brand items, but quality items such as Axe body sprays.
The donated items will make between 15 and 20 packages, Rojas estimated.
In exchange for their donations, Rojas offered warm chocolate chip cookies and glasses of milk to students.
“I am happy that people donated, happy that people wanted to donate the seemingly simple items one assumes the troops are given an unlimited supply of, but actually are not,” he said.
“It’s a good cause,” said Frank Barbalaco ’11, a resident of Rojas’ floor in Regis. “There’s always extra stuff lying around. Why not give it to someone who needs it?”
Derek Morin ’09, an RA in Jogues, attended the event and said he was inspired to help with a future drive.
“It’s more important to support our troops than protest them,” he said.
“Troops are the American public. They’re just as much people as anyone else, if not more so,” he said.
Rojas spent the week before Spring Break going door to door throughout the quad’s residence halls distributing information about the drive. He also sent informative e-mails out to students, and offered coffee and information at the main entrance of each building throughout the past week.
Although Rojas has organized drives in the past, dating back to high school, he has been inspired by a Connecticut-based group called A Project From the Heart. This group’s motto is, “Regardless of our opinion of the war, we need to let our soldiers know we care.”
The group is comprised of retired police wives who pack items into care packages for soldiers every Thursday morning, using their own funds to cover the price of postage and shipping.
“We collected a lot of items,” Rojas said, “but what I hope that people take out of it is the work of the women from A Project From the Heart, who just a few weeks ago spent $218 in one week.”
The money, which comes from both the women’s own pockets and from what is donated, is used to cover postage costs for the packages.
Members of the group were present during Friday’s drive, meeting students and sharing stories and letters from soldiers.
Many letters can be found on the organization’s web site , in which recipients of their “We Care” packages send their thanks and share their personal stories about both their families back home and their time overseas.
“I cannot thank you enough for the care package,” wrote a single mother serving time in Iraq. “It had been a long week and I desperately needed to feel needed.”
As a junior, Rojas has two semesters left and plans to organize two more campus-wide, rather than quad-wide, events similar to Friday’s – whether he becomes an RA again or not.
His goal is to improve upon this drive either by increasing the amount of items donated or raising awareness of the issue.
“I have a deep appreciation of the efforts,” said Rojas.
“Even if Fairfield sent the very good amount of supplies collected on Friday every single day to those in Iraq and Afghanistan, it would not come close to what they really deserve.”
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