West Alexander teen collects jelly beans for troops
A smaller stash of donated candies sits above a 50-pound box of Easter jelly beans at Curtis Pharmacy in Claysville.
Brooke Dorsey, closing out her high school years, sits with candy parcels that were shipped overseas.
Brooke Dorsey of Claysville has been collecting and shipping jelly beans for military service members stationed abroad since she was a sixth-grader at McGuffey.
Donors have until Friday to help Brooke Dorsey collect for her eighth annual Jelly Beans for Troops drive.
An average of 300 pounds of jelly beans are sent overseas each year.
Brooke Dorsey, in her middle school years, poses with a stash of donated candy.
Signs hang outside drop-off locations reminding donors their efforts are not wasted.
CLAYSVILLE – Nathan Kennedy was a decorated Army Ranger who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010. The 26-year-old who died in combat was one of the first recipients of a yearslong effort by a then-sixth-grade student at McGuffey to provide military service members simple comforts of home, to help them forget for a few moments about the looming threats in their deployment zones.
For eight years, Brooke Dorsey, 19, has been collecting and sending jelly beans in time for Easter to troops from the area who are stationed abroad. The memories of Kennedy and others who have sent letters, she said, are what keep her committed to the project.
“I started at West Liberty University this year, and I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to keep this going. I started this when I was a sixth-grader and McGuffey teachers were asking for service projects as part of an anti-bully program,” Dorsey said, “and it seemed most holidays were being served by local organizations.”
Stockings – 250 or more – are sent to troops at Christmastime on behalf of the Claysville American Legion. The commander, Elden Morris, suggested Dorsey consider another holiday.
“We told her we’d back her. She’s a real fine young lady,” Morris said.
“But one of the big obstacles for her is just shipping these things. We have folks who will slap down a $100 bill once in a while when they hear it costs hundreds,” Morris said.
The postage costs, Dorsey said, set her back a few hundred dollars each time she sends out the gift packages – an average of 250 pounds of beans each time. The logistical and financial challenges haven’t deterred her in light of the appreciation and supportive feedback she’s received.
“Most people send back letters. I had a soldier, Roy Wise – he actually did an assembly for me at McGuffey when I was in eighth grade – and he gave me the flag he carried overseas. He said nobody sent them anything (in Iraq or Afghanistan), except family,” Dorsey said.
“Danny Williams was a soldier in Kosovo. He wrote me that they used the jelly beans as a sort of social currency – they used them to gain the trust of people in the country. They didn’t eat them. They immediately decided they were going to use them to win hearts and minds. And they sent me a flag that they flew on one of the helicopters,” Dorsey said.
Curtis Pharmacy, Minteer’s Market and Yoest Feed and Farm are among the Claysville-area businesses that have allowed Dorsey to place collection bins in their stores. For Maria Yoest, the cause is a personal one.
“My son, Evan, is in the Marines. My daughter, Erin, is going to boot camp in June. And I’ve had a brother-in-law in the Air Force for 25 years. Military families know it’s tough for a service member to go through a holiday without family, without being home. This helps a little bit,” Yoest said, “and it puts a smile on their face.”
The record amount of jelly beans – 600 pounds – came in the program’s second year. Dorsey has gone from sending just five packages her first year to mailing an average of 30 boxes each year, with each containing as many as 35 packs of jelly bean bags. Those 20-pound parcels make their way around the world to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Japan. But with U.S. fighting campaigns waning abroad, Dorsey may start diverting more to soldiers in the states.
“I make sure all of my addresses – the families – are local,” Dorsey said, explaining she and the Legion try to serve those associated with the organization.
Dorsey starts the “Jelly Beans for the Troops” drive every year five weeks before Easter.
“Friday is the last day I’m collecting, then I have a week to get stuff ready to ship. It’s a crush to get it all pulled together, but it’s worth it,” she said.