Letter project

Dear Editor,

We are writing from Mr. Turton's third grade class at Trinity Christian School in Sacramento, Calif. We are writing to ask for your help. We started a letter-writing project in November that we are continuing to work in order to support our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our goal is to collect 2,500 letters from people around the country who want to send messages of hope and encouragement to those defending our country overseas.

This mission, that we're calling Operation: Open Eyes, started as a letter-writing lesson where we sent letters to troops in Afghanistan.

When we realized that we would only be able to send 15 letters (that's how many of us there are), we felt bad. We wanted to do more! So far, we have hand-written letters to dozens of newspapers, and e-mailed hundreds more, requesting that you print our letter and that you ask your readers to write a letter to a service member and send it to us to forward overseas.

So far, we have been published in more than 25 newspapers in 14 states and received more than 600 letters in response! We are asking that those who write letters include an extra stamp and envelope to cover postage. The troops love to hear about sports teams, school, family, and anything else that would remind them of home. Please help us communicate that we are thinking of them often. If your readers would like a more detailed look at the project, they should feel free to stop by our website at www.operationopeneyes.com. 

 Thank you in advance,

Mr. Turton's 3rd grade class

5225 Hillsdale Blvd.

Sacramento, CA 95842