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49 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, December 9, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 1, 2004 North Medford High School cheerleader Katie Sparks carries an armload of gifts for soldiers serving in Iraq. The packages were purchased with money her squad would have used on a trip to the Orange Bowl if fund-raising efforts had been more successful. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Opportunity for generosity 120 soldiers will get a nice surprise By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune North Medford High School cheerleaders have turned the ultimate disappointment into a chance to spread holiday cheer to soldiers spending Christmas in Iraq. The group began the school year with hopes of appearing at the Orange Bowl in Miami in January after a stint at a National Cheer Association camp last summer resulted in the entire squad being nominated. But fund-raising efforts fell drastically short. A required deposit toward the $2,000 cost for each of the 25 cheerleaders was not possible, despite car washes, rummage sales and other efforts, by the mid-November deadline. In true cheerleader fashion, the peppy bunch shrugged it off and took a vote on a good way to spend the $2,500 it had managed to raise. "They were real excited about going to Miami," said Candy Galbreath, mother of squad members Tiffany, 14, and Silver, 15. Her brother, Rogue Valley native Maj. Dwight Croy, is serving in Iraq as a chaplain. Advertisement "Some of them could have gone with what they managed to raise but their motto from the beginning was either they all go or none of them go." As an alternate way of putting their cheerleading skills to good use, the squad set out to fill some 120 shoe boxes with everything from beef jerky and toiletries to candy, music and magazines for the troops. Silver said having the money to do something special for soldiers made the cheerleaders feel as good as if they’d made the trip. "It’s really special to send them cards and packages to tell them we’re thinking of them and that they’re doing a good job," said Silver. "It’s important to keep their spirits up so they don’t think what they’re doing is for nothing." Medford mom Nola Shaw, whose 15-year-old daughter, Leslie, is on the squad, said the group showed true patriotism in seeing its last-minute project through. "These kids really turned their lemons into lemonade," Shaw said. "They’re cheerleaders at a great school but also in this community. Maybe these girls will wind up in the service and get a package someday and be able to look back and realize how much thought went into putting all that together." Galbreath, who mailed 14 nearly 50-pound boxes on Monday, said the importance of what the cheerleaders had done hit home for her as she waited in line at the post office. "Some older men started talking about how, when they served, how wonderful it was to hear from home," she said. "They were saying how they didn’t care if it was written on a napkin and stuck in an envelope . . . just that it meant so much to get something at mail time. I thought that was so special to be able to do something like this." Shaw said squad members handmade stationery to include in the shoe boxes. "When they were making the stationery, they got to talking about how, wouldn’t it be awesome, here we are sending this to Iraq . . . the soldiers are going to write on it and send it all over," Shaw said. "Wouldn’t that be something if they used this stationery to write and tell their loved ones, ‘Hey, I’m coming home!’ " Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities