Courtesy of Deena C. Spell/Roswell Patch
While most teenagers are at the mall eyeing the gifts on their Christmas list, Chase Rosenberg is wrapping care packages – but not for himself or his friends. A junior at Centennial High School, Chase has been a part of Operation Stars and Stripes for 5 years.
“It first started when I was in 7th grade – after my Bar Mitzvah,” Chase says. “I was looking to do a community project and thought about doing something for the children over in Afghanistan. Then I came across Operation Stars and Stripes and really wanted to do that.”
Operation Stars and Stripes was started by Marietta-native Rosalyn Sue Smith in 2001 and is a non-profit organization committed to bringing a little Christmas cheer to American soldiers in war zones. Chase’s first year helping out in Operation Stars and Stripes, he went to Kroger to see what the store would donate. The manager at the time was a war veteran and gladly donated some goods to the cause.
“He said that while he was a soldier abroad, he would always keep a few tootsie rolls in his helmet to remind him of home. For some reason that just stuck with me,” Chase says.
But Chase doesn’t just rely on the good will of grocery store veterans to gather up candy and letters for the soldiers – he decided to recruit some of his friends to help in the effort. This year, they all collected over 300 pounds of candy.
“I usually send out emails to neighbors letting them know we’re collecting candy for the soldiers and I even go door to door at Halloween with my information. When Halloween is over, I go pick it up and help package up candy and letters.”
When Chase isn’t helping spread a little joy to soldiers, he plays football for Centennial and is part of the National Honor Society and the Beta Club. Still, he enjoys his part in a national movement to better the lives of the military. He’s even received thank you cards from soldiers saying how much what he does matters.
“It’s crazy to think that some of these soldiers are people almost my age spending Christmas halfway across the world in deserts. Their life is at risk every day, so every little thing counts,” Chase says.
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