11-year-old contributes to campaign for Operation Troop Appreciation
Drew Weifenbaugh, 11, is starting sixth grade at Butler Catholic School, but he's also finishing his summer campaign to raise money and supplies for Operation Troop Appreciation.
The son of Paul and Renee Weifenbaugh, of Butler, Drew has contributed to Operation Troop Appreciation in the past, starting when he was much younger.
“When I was 5, I made cards for them to send overseas,” Drew said. “We try to do stuff every summer, but some summers we haven't been able to do it.
“We started planning at the beginning of the summer,” he said of his latest campaign to raise money and collect hygiene and food items to be sent both to military members overseas and those returning home.
Drew sent letters to a dozen Butler County businesses earlier this year and canvassed his neighbors along Linsdale Drive as well as family and friends for money and donated products such as deodorant, razors, packets of nuts, beef sticks, granola bars, cookies, crackers and pretzels.
Dish soap, bath towels, brooms, buckets and dustpan sets, among other items, will be used for welcome-home kits to help returned troops set up housekeeping.
Drew's mother, Renee, said Bowden Chiropractic, located at 152 Point Plaza, is trying to meet the goal of $1,250 to pay for beds and a welcome-home kit for a veteran's family of four.Keystone Diesel, located at 647 Evans City Road, donated $100, she said.Renee Weifenbaugh said she hopes to deliver her son's money and material next week to the Operation Troop Appreciation warehouse in West Mifflin.Drew said he hopes to get a tour of the distribution facility. He knows some of his donations will be sent overseas, but he's not allowed to know the specific destinations for security reasons.“Me and my mom were looking for a project to do to help the soldiers,” said Drew of his first card-making effort.
This year, Drew said, “We figured they would need some supplies. After COVID, they have a hard time finding supplies.“We usually try to do this in the summer, so I have more time to work on it and think about because of school,” he said. “School's getting harder the older I'm getting.”Even after Drew's collection is taken to the Operation Troop Appreciation warehouse, Dazzling Designs, located at 235A New Castle Road, will serve as a collection point for donations to the military support organization until the end of October.“I thought I would give to the soldiers because they risk their lives and give to the country,” Drew said.
