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Last Friday night, when the group gathered at the Zimmerman's Folcroft home to do their monthly packing, Kevin Zimmerman helped.
Zimmerman is on R&R from Crazy Horse Company, First Battalion, 12th Cavalry; He will fly back to Iraq Sunday (Sept. 19). "I'll be going right back to Baghdad. It doesn't really bother me to go back. It'll be over soon," he said. He expects to wrap up a one-year deployment in Iraq in March.
Kevin Zimmerman is a 2001 graduate of Academy Park High School. He signed up for a four-year tour of duty with the U.S. Army that ends in February 2007.
"We're in a rough spot up in Sadr City in Baghdad. It's pretty dangerous where we're at. We see a lot of stuff. The heat was really getting to me but we're over the hump and coming down now," he said.
Paula Zimmerman began her drive when she found out not all the soldiers receive mail from home. "It really upset me when I learned that," she said.
She began her drive by soliciting friends and family for donations. "It snowballed unbelievably," she said. Due to recent publicity, strangers have come to her home and made anonymous donations. "Everybody wants to do something but a lot of people don't know what to do. This gives them a chance to pick something up at the supermarket and we get it to these guys," she said.
She obtained a "wish list" from the Rear Detachment Officer in Iraq of items the soldiers would appreciate. They range from shaving cream, Chapstick and wipes to snacks such as bag cookies and chips and music CDs and movies.
"They really appreciate it," Kevin Zimmerman said. "It's helping them save money. They don't have to go out and buy all that stuff like toothpaste. Everyone's real thankful. She sent them a lot of stuff they really need. People stuck little letters in the boxes saying they support us. Stuff like that is good to hear," he said.
Paula and John Zimmerman also have a younger son, Danny, who's a senior at Academy Park High School.
