by Alexandra Edwards

As the day after Thanksgiving officially marks the beginning of the festive season, plans are being made for families and friends to come together to share the joy of Christmas. In a perfect world, it is a time when every family should be together but this is not a perfect world and there are some that due to their commitment to their country, are not able to be home with their families. The men and women of the United States Military are stationed many miles from home. They will be thinking of their families and feeling more homesick than ever at this very special time of the year.

Here in Cleveland, Tennessee, a city known for its generosity to help others, a young teenager decided she wanted to actually do something to give the troops overseas a little taste of home. Kaylee Radzyminski, a fourteen year old student at Cleveland High School, heard that although computers and electronic equipment was accessible to most of our troops, they craved entertainment. Having many CDs of her own she no longer listened to she decided she would send them to the troops, then realized others in the community may also have unwanted CDs, DVDs or even books on CD. Kaylee created a project she named

Tunes 4 the Troops. Word soon got around the community about the project through the school system and local media and drop-off locations for the CDs were soon set up. (See list).  Kaylee said she received a great response, collecting hundreds of discs for the troops. Her goal was to collect at least 2000 by Thanksgiving weekend when she and her mother Stephanie would hand deliver the first collected box loads to the Walter-Reed Army Hospital, a naval hospital for wounded soldiers in Washington D.C. Subsequent box loads collected through Tunes 4 the Troops are expected to be mailed to our armed forces overseas. "I'm hoping to mail out at least half a million discs by one year and to make it a national project." Said Kaylee.
The Cleveland and Bradley County school systems, local businessmen, and some prominent elected officials have been very supportive of Kaylee's project. Rick Tucker from Zach Wamp's office recently helped her put together a free website www.tunes4thetroops.20m.com. Southern Heritage Bank set up a free checking account for donations

for the project. Stephanie made it clear that they were not looking for financial donations "just clean out what you have in the way of entertainment CDs - we just need help with the shipping costs," she said.

Kaylee, who has been an active member of the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps since 2002, says she has met many men and women from the military and traveled to military bases to learn from them. She has learned the meaning of military pride and bearing and had the honor of presenting the colors (The American Flag) for many events including the Navy's Birthday.  The objectives of the Sea Cadet program, are to introduce youth between

the ages of 13-17 to naval life, to develop in them a sense of pride, patriotism, courage and self-reliance and to promote an environment free of drugs and gangs. One of the requirements necessary to become a member of the Sea Cadet Corp.  is to be a full time student and maintain at least a 2.00 grade point average. Kaylee easily met the requirements by being a straight "A" honors student. She is also a member of Cleveland High School Interact, a teenage version of the Rotary Club. After graduating High School her plans are to go into the Naval Academy and also to be a politician.

Whereas most teenagers bedrooms are adorned with posters of rock stars or sports celebrities, Radzyminski's bedroom is filled with military posters and trophies from her many achievements. She said that coming

from a military family back as far as the Civil War, it is in her blood and she has yearned to serve her country since the age of eight. Radzyminski has taken an active roll in the community, supporting the troops for the past four years by helping organize the support our troops rally in April 2003, attended the departure and recent welcoming home of 278th Regimental Combat Team and was also a speaker at this year's Cleveland-Bradley Veterans Day program.

Radzyminski said she started Tunes 4 the Troops to let the brave soldiers serving around the world know who they are serving and fighting for, and added "It's not about supporting the war, but it's about supporting our troops."

What could bring them closer to home than listening to music from their favorite band or rock group, music that is familiar to the ear, music that brings thoughts of happy times with the family and loved ones? What could bring more Christmas spirit to the heart than watching "It's a Wonderful Life" on DVD? Sending CDs and DVDs to our troops overseas is a wonderful idea that nobody had thought of until now.  There are thousands lying unused in most homes and they are small and easy to transport anywhere in the world. Kaylee's mother, Stephanie has every reason to be proud of what her daughter is doing, she added, "What a noble cause for a young individual to make this grassroots effort, I am very proud of her for taking the initiative to get out there and actually do something special for our troops."
If you wish to donate new or used CDs, DVDs or books on CD to Tunes 4 The Troops, take them to the drop-off locations listed here.

Folks, lets help Kaylee bring home-grown pleasure to our brave servicemen and women overseas and show to them our appreciation for the personal sacrifice they are making.

For more information call (423) 472-4078, 

Visit the website:
www.tunes4thetroops.20m.com

e-mail: 
tunes4thetroops@hotmail.com.

Or you can write to:
Tunes 4 the Troops, P.O. Box 2008 Cleveland, TN. 37320
.