PERRYVILLE STUDENTS SEND GIFTS WORLDWIDE

PERRYVILLE -- More than 2,000 Perryville students are reaching around the world to deliver a simple message: "We care!"

Students, school officials and teachers gathered Thursday to watch as more than 300 shoe boxes filled with goodies for youngsters began their journey from the Perryville public school campus to countries around the world.

Transportation, provided by Gilster Mary Lee, a major manufacturer in the Perryville area, delivered the 331 boxes to Chesterfield, where they will be transported to Samaritan's Purse Association, headquartered at Boone, N.C., for shipment overseas.

From there they will wind up in the hands of youngsters in Bosnia and in Rwanda and other countries in Africa, Asia and Europe in time for Christmas.

"Operation Christmas Child has been a great project for our students," said Rick Francis, principal of Perryville Middle School. "We have a total of 2,400 students in the school district, and every one of them were invited to participate in the project."

"It's been fun," said Angela Rose, a seventh-grade student. "Our class filled one of the boxes with a number of items -- small toys, pencils, chalk, notebooks, toothpaste and toothbrushes, and a Kaboodles makeup kit."

"I was really excited about it," said another seventh-grader, Libby Anderson. "It was really nice to do something for someone less fortunate."

Anderson said her family purchased Christmas gifts for other people for the holiday instead of for each other.

More than 400 boxes were prepared by the Perryville students.

"Some funds were involved," said Francis. "It cost $5 postage to send the boxes. "We raised more than $1,600, enough to ship 331 of the boxes."

Ninety-six boxes will be distributed to youngsters in Perry County through the Division of Family Services.

"This is a great project," said Francis. "It's a worldwide project and involves children giving to children."

David Ruhman and his wife, Lisa, were instigators of the project, said Francis.

Ruhman, a counselor at Perryville Middle School, suggested the project when he read about the Samaritan Purse project in a magazine.

"I though it was a good project," said Ruhman. "It is focused on children around the world. It gave our youngsters an opportunity to get involved in a community service."

The Perryville Middle School took the lead in the project, but involved students of all classes.

Last year more than 800,000 filled shoeboxes were distributed in all parts of the world -- Bosnia, Kenya, Nicaragua, Romania, Sussia, Thailand, Serbie and others.

Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, is director of the Samaritan's Purse Association, which also helps provide other relief in the same countries.

Graham joined Samaritan's Purse in 1978, and became its president in 1979.