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A giving birthday

News | December 15, 2015

Freddie Lassers was pretty excited when his parents told him he could have a friend birthday party to celebrate turning 6. “But I already have a lot of toys,” he told mom and dad, Christine and Alex.

So the Lassers started brainstorming: what could Freddie’s friends bring instead to his birthday party fun at Monkey Joe’s? When the idea of sending a care package to an Army Ranger came up – “I think I want to do that,” Freddie said.

They made up invitations, with some guidance from the U.S.O., which supports members of the military. On the bottom, the invitation said: “Instead of a birthday gift, Freddie requests a simple donation for the Army Rangers (Chapstick, pringles, gum, candy, jerky, Little Debbie snacks). The friends came. They had a blast. And they brought 44 1/2 pounds of goodies for a person they’ve never met and will likely never know.
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After they party, the family packed up the items in two boxes, addressed it to the Army Ranger they had gotten the name of, wrote a note, and sent it off. The hope is that it will arrive before Christmas.

Why did Freddie choose someone in the military? The Lassers don’t have a strong link to the armed forces. They guess that Freddie, a kindergartner at Grant Wood Elementary in Bettendorf, fondly remembers going to the Quad City Air Show this summer, and meeting some people serving in uniform there. freddie_edited

If that’s the case, that memory turned into a pretty awesome care package.

“We’re trying to teach the kids the important of giving to others,” Christine said.

 

One comment on “A giving birthday”

  • Sue Lambert

    December 23, 2015 at 12:41 pm

    What a great idea, Freddie!

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