Dec. 10, 2008
Courtesy of The Office of Public Affairs
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - As this year's community service project, the Marist College Varsity softball team will adopt Second Lieutenant Michael Murray's Marine platoon stationed in Fallujah and send the soldiers care packages for the holiday season. Murray, the son of Marist College President Dennis J. Murray, is a graduate of Marist and serves as platoon leader.
"Because the soldiers cannot be home with their loved ones for the holidays, we hope to bring some holiday cheer to them and show that we appreciate everything they do for our country on the front line," said Mary Beth Pomes, business senior and team captain.
The platoon consists of 34 men and one woman from ages 18 to 30. Their eight-month tour of Iraq started in July and will conclude in March.
President Murray said, "Being that I'm unable to speak to my son as often as I'd like, I know that anything letters, e-mails, packages means a lot to him and his squad while they are away from home. I think what the team is doing is wonderful and will remind those men and women that people at home haven't forgotten them. I know Michael would like to thank them himself someday."
Director of External Recruitment and Outreach Corinne Schell, also a Marist alumna, is facilitating the project by reaching out to a network of possible donors, all of which are Marist-affiliated. Schell's daughter, Caitlin, is a freshman on the team and said that her mother "always encourages community involvement."
"This is a great way for the girls to work as a team both on and off the field," added Corinne Schell. "We want to let the troops know that we support them in defending us."
Thus far, Corinne Schell has recruited a generous list of contributors. The college's dining services provider, Sodexo, will contribute nonperishable items such as fruit snacks, granola bars, trail mix and cookies while international food company, General Mills, will donate boxes of various cereals. The platoon will also receive used sports equipment from Marist's Athletics Department and decks of playing cards and boxes of Cracker Jacks from the Hudson Valley Renegades baseball team.
The project has grown in the past month, "continuously spreading to others in a community spirit kind of way," said Corinne Schell.
Marist alumna Susan Morrissey teaches a confirmation class at St. Hugh of Lincoln Church in Huntington, New York. Her seventh grade students are writing letters to the soldiers to thank them for their efforts and to send their prayers. Kathy Pomes, mother of Mary Beth, is having her second grade class at Shohola Elementary School in Milford, Pennsylvania, make holiday cards for the platoon as well.
The team has been active in the community in past years, holding softball clinics for local elementary schools.
"This new project gives our women an understanding of just how important our servicemen and women are on the front line," said Coach Joe Ausanio. "It is a small gesture that we hope can bring our troops a little bit of home."
