Schuylerville eighth graders sort and package candy to send to American soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Thank you for keeping us safe. You are a hero.”

“Thank you for being so brave.”

“Dear Troops: I am in fourth grade. I thought you might like some Halloween candy since you weren’t home celebrating with your family.”

“I donated all my Tootsie Rolls to you. I hope you do well out there.”

These are just a few of the heartfelt messages that Schuylerville students included with the Halloween candy they collected, packaged and sent to American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Schuylerville eighth graders organized this project (which was dubbed “Trick or Treat for Our Troops”) in conjunction with Project Yellow Ribbon. These students encouraged families throughout the district to donate some of their Halloween treats to American troops. After collecting the candy, they spent a few weeks separating the candy, bagging it up and inserting messages. Representatives from Project Yellow Ribbon, an organization that sends care packages to American Troops, picked up the candy recently.

“The students put so much effort into this; it’s been amazing to see,” says Mary Lou Liptak-Masten, a remedial reading teacher who oversaw the project. “In the end, they collected thousands of pieces of candy and put together more than 425 separate bags to send to the soldiers.”

“We’re helping making things a little better for soldiers who didn’t get to be with their families on Halloween,” commented one eighth-grader as she walked around and around tables to sort through all the candy.

The initiative took shape after students read Soldier’s Heart by Gary Paulsen. The book chronicles the experiences of a 15-year-old boy as he enlists in the First Minnesota Volunteers during the Civil War. He leaves the service at age 19, described as having a “soldier’s heart,” which refers to the post traumatic stress disorder suffered by soldiers throughout history and even today.

“Our eighth graders were so moved by this book and the information on post traumatic stress disorder that they wanted to do something to help today’s soldiers,” Liptak-Masten said.