Horizon Middle School eighth grader Lexi Kluge spent the afternoon Dec. 7 preparing Christmas stockings to send to the troops in Afghanistan. Kluge and her fellow volunteers were surprised that 100 stockings would not suffice for all the donations they received.After about three hours stuffing stockings, Kluge said they rounded up the leftovers and gave them to TESSA and The Ronald McDonald House, which has special meaning to Kluge and her family. ìWe’re going to do a golf tournament for them sometime next summer,î she said. ìI’m also going to volunteer there soon.îAlthough Kluge came up with the idea, the effort to send stockings to the troops was a family affair. Kluge’s sister’s cheerleading coach from the Falcon Cheer Club donated most of the material for the stockings. Klugeís grandmother made the stockings, and her grandfather helped organize a golf tournament to raise money to ship the stockings to Afghanistan.Kluge decided to organize a project to give back to men and women serving overseas after spending time in Texas, she said. ìI met a man named JC who was injured by a roadside bomb,î Kluge said. ìIt really moved me a lot.îShe started the project as a contest at HMS to motivate students to bring in donations. Kluge said she received everything from baby wipes and other toiletries to granola bars and trail mix.In the end, even students who didn’t donate anything turned up after school to help stuff stockings. ìTons of people started coming in after school to stuff the stockings, more than I expected,î she said. ìWe split up into teams and had a contest to see who could stuff the most. The teams that won in the different grade levels earned a pizza party.î Kluge’s mother, Lindsay Kluge, provided the pizza.Lindsay Kluge said the event was definitely a success. ìI want people to know how supportive the staff and administration at the school were,î she said. ìThey were so supportive and wanted to make sure they were doing everything they could.îMore charitable projects are in Lexi Klugeís future. ìI’ve been thinking about other things to do already,î she said. ìAnd I have tons of ideas.î
