MERRITT ISLAND -- Tom Brown, a teacher at Merritt Island High School, and his wife, Ann, are on a mission. They have formed a coalition and enlisted the help of students to adopt five troops in Iraq who do not have families at home.

"They're not getting the normal support boxes that family members would send to people over there, with basic, day-to-day items that make their life better," Ann Brown said. "When you start this program, you have to do it every month. It's not a one time deal. You basically take these people on, and you're going to support them until they come home."

That is where the students come into the picture. Biology classes and the Deca Club have collected food, toiletries, even Christmas presents and money to ship the boxes overseas, month after month.

"In Desert Storm, the 1991 offensive, the Post Office allowed us to send stuff for free. Now, it's like a dollar a pound," Tom Brown said. "We've mailed probably 500 or 600 pounds of stuff already."

"Things here that we use every day, that we don't even realize that they might need over there," said Dexter Westbrooks, a student volunteer.

Westbrooks said getting letters from the soldiers, thanking them for their hard work, makes it all worth it.

"It really just makes us feel good to know that they received everything, and they're putting it to good use," Westbrooks said.

That is why the volunteers at Merritt Island High School are our Central Floridians of the Week.   Lisa Bell Central Florida News 13.

 To see more this or other Central Floridians of the Week, go to News 13 On Demand, Digital Cable Channel 313.

 
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