'Love from home' project sends Gatorade, more to soldiers in Iraq

Published: 2004-11-22

DUBUQUE, Iowa (CNS) -- When Sandra Arensdorf's son David, a Marine reservist stationed in Iraq, complained about the 140-degree heat and drinking water that tasted like bleach, the concerned mother decided to take action. "One of his biggest complaints was about how bad the water was and how he missed the 'good Dubuque water,'" she said, recalling that he asked he to "please send lots of Gatorade to kill the taste!" The Arensdorfs, members of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Dubuque, decided to enlist the help of the students and faculty of St. Joseph School, where David's brother Ryan is a sixth-grader. The project, "With Love, From Home," began with participants collecting powdered Gatorade to send to the troops in Fallujah, Iraq, but soon word spread throughout the parish. Shannon Zimmerman, a young mother whose husband is also stationed in Iraq and who had been collecting food donations to send to her husband and his comrades, joined forces with Arensdorf. The undertaking has blossomed from a parish project to a communitywide endeavor, with Arensdorf and Zimmerman placing collection containers and cash jars in area businesses.

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