OT honor society aids alumni and fellow soldiers

Pi Theta Epsilon, MU’s Occupational Therapy Honor Society, conducted a service learning project on behalf of Captain Jack Volpe, an MU graduate. Volpe is an occupational therapist in the U.S. Army working with hurt soldiers on the front lines in Iraq.

Donations began on Nov. 10 and ended on Nov. 21. The donation boxes were set up in Hafey-McCormick Science building and also placed on the third floor in McAuley-Walsh for faculty to participate.

The boxes were marked with class years as part of a contest for OT students. The class that donates the most will receive snacks during one of their classes either directly before or after Thanksgiving break.

“Everybody I think wants to do anything they can for the soldiers over in Iraq, no matter who they are,” Rachel Thompson, treasurer of Pi Theta Epsilon, “but the fact that we get to help them as OT’s from one OT to another.”

In an e-mail Volpe listed some of the things that the soldiers would want and or need in Iraq. “Care packages are always appreciated regardless of what they contain,” said Volpe. “When you are far from home getting mail is one of the great morale boosters. We open them like Christmas presents and share with whoever is around at the time.”

Addition to cash donations, OT students were encouraged to donate things such as personal letters, soap, baby wipes, beef jerky, slim jims, toothbrushes, small tubes of toothpaste, mouthwash, snack crackers, and Twizzlers candy. In addition, women soldiers often request shampoos, conditioners, loofahs, body wash, lotions and lip balms.

One thing that Volpe told the students that the soldiers really wanted was coloring books because it gave them a sense of home. “The activity helps bring back the innocence and a feeling of normal, ordinary living they feel they lost in the performance of their duties,” said Volpe.

In the next couple weeks Pi Theta Epsilon will be packaging everything and shipping the boxes over to Iraq for Volpe and his fellow soldiers.

Pi Pheta Epsilon would like to thank everyone for their generous donations.