THS student leads mission for the troops

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Tennessee High School junior Megan Hopkins is a whirlwind of a student who loves taking on challenges – from swimming to theater, public speaking to Girl Scouts.

But in spurring her high school Leadership Challenge class to conduct a community-wide drive for items to send to American troops in Afghanistan, Megan said her effort is about more than meeting a challenge – it’s about embracing a cause.

“We just can’t have soldiers who risk their lives every day, thousands of miles away, but don’t even have toothbrushes to use,” Megan said. “If we can make a difference for them, we should step up and do it. And I think we really can, even if it’s doing something this small.”Over the past few weeks, Megan and 15 other students in a the Leadership Challenge class led by instructor Scott Jenkinson have been collecting toothpaste, toothbrushes, bars of soap, razors, hand warmers, sanitizing wipes, feminine products, waterless shower caps, non-aerosol deodorant, notes of encouragement and Beanie Babies dolls that they’ll put into care packages for soldiers stationed in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division.

By mid-November, the class plans to ship 120 packages to the 101st Airborne troops, which include Megan’s brother, Nick Campbell, an Army medic who has been in Afghanistan for eight months.

Megan said she suggested that the Leadership Challenge class undertake the project after her brother told her mother, Kim, how many soldiers lacked personal items and other supplies that most people take for granted.

“Most of the time, they just make do with whatever they brought over, or what they can pick up here and there,” Megan said. “I just thought we could get involved and help the soldiers out. Not just my brother, but all of the troops he’s serving with and sacrificing with.”

The care package project – and Megan’s leading role in bringing it to life – perfectly fits what the Leadership Challenge course seeks to inspire in Tennessee High students, said Jenkinson, who also teaches English. The school has two Leadership Challenge classes, with 33 total students enrolled in the course.

“The whole goal of the course is raising awareness in our students about the impact they can have on the global community,” Jenkinson said. “And sending these packages to the soldiers is a perfect example. It’s a tiny thing that’s being done in Bristol. But it’s going to make a big difference to some people halfway around the world.”

Jenkinson said the greatest reward that his class can get from the package project won’t come in a grade, but from a letter.

“The best thing our students can get out of this project is one letter from a soldier, telling them how much it meant to receive a package,” Jenkinson said. “It would really show the impact they can have on the world.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Jenkinson, Megan and fellow junior classmate Cheyenne Barr were busily moving to and fro in Jenkinson’s classroom, sorting and organizing the impressive stacks of items already collected.

The Leadership Challenge class plans to keep collecting items through next week, as well as $20 donations, which is the estimated cost of putting together one care package. Along with the personal items, each package will include a Tennessee High School T-shirt.

“We’ve done amazingly well so far, though I’m hoping we’ll get a few more Beanie Babies dolls,” Jenkinson said, noting that troops enjoy giving the dolls to young Afghan children while on patrol duty. “I think we’re going to be sending off a nice shipment. It’s been admirable how our students have really pursued this project.”

And, Megan said, the work won’t stop once 120 packages of soap, razors, toothpaste and other comfort items have been packed on a plane and sent across the world.

“I’d love to see this project become a tradition in the school, one that students will do long after I’ve graduated,” Megan said. “Why not?”

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