Over the course of three years Tennie Lafollette watched her son deploy to Iraq in in 2008, followed by her husband in 2009, and 10 days after her husband returned in 2010, her son was deployed to Afghanistan.
This year Lafollette’s husband Eric, who is a member of the Tennessee National Guard based in Rogersville, is expected to be deployed again along with the Guard unit based in Mount Carmel.
Lafollette knows from the experiences of her husband and son what it’s like for soldiers to be in the desert and unable to get little necessities like sunscreen, chapstick, baby wipes, toiletries, a snack, or even a change of socks.
That’s why Lafollette has organized a drive to collect items that local soldiers can take with them in a care package when they are deployed.
Last week Lafollette was at the Rogersville Armory where Julie Pearson from Persia Baptist Church was dropping off a major donation of wipes, which are crucial for soldiers who spend days on end without access to shower facilities.
Lafollette is partnering with Project Serve Our Soldiers (PSOS), which is based at the Rogersville Armory. PSOS collects donations to provide care packages to local soldiers.
That effort is currently on maximum overdrive due to local members of the National Guard and Army Reserve being deployed in small numbers throughout the year, as well as a major deployment tentatively scheduled for October.
The goal is to send a package with every soldier who leaves, as well as mail packages to local soldiers as regularly as possible while they’re on deployment.
“Because of my experiences the first time, I just wanted to get people involved,” Lafollette told the Review. “So I went on Facebook and issued a challenge to churches. For each item we needed, we needed 500 at a time. It’s not easy for one people to go buy 500 things, even if they’re only $1 each. So I made up a challenge for the churches. If their members could get one thing a week, within four months you’ve got 500. Quicker if you’ve got a bigger church.”
Lafollette added, “Since then businesses and churches all over our county have been helping. We’ve gotten things like snacks, socks, chapstick, packets of sunscreen, toothpaste, and things like that. Yes, (soldiers) can go get this stuff if they’re on base and not out in the field. But, sometimes it’s a mile away. Like my husband said, the more stuff you have, the less you have to run around and get at PXs and stores.”
'They’re being prayed for'
In addition to little necessities, Lafollette is also collecting prayer cloths for soldiers to put in their wallet. Various church congregations are praying over a cloth, and pieces of that cloth are placed on a card with a short prayer that soldiers can keep with them at all times.
Lafollette said these collections will be ongoing because these deployments are expected to continue at least through 2025. You can visit her “Tennie Lafollette” Facebook page, which is linked in the online version of this article, to find the lists of items that are needed.
“I want the soldiers to know that this county is behind them, and that they’re being prayed for,” Lafollette said. “They’re in a situation where they’re away from their family and they’re away from their home, and they’re not in an atmosphere like here in the Bible Belt in East Tennessee. They’re at a place that’s the opposite, and I need them to know that prayers are being said, and we love the soldiers enough that we’re giving. We’ve gotten bags of donations from all over this county, and everything we can get helps.”
Pearson said she’s grateful to Lafollete and PSOS for launching this efforts to help local soldiers.
“We need to support the soldiers,” Pearson said. “Look what their doing for us.”
Much still needed
Aside from Persia Baptist Church, other area churches and organizations that participated in the drive so far include:
Lafollette’s Chapel in Surgoinsville, which contributed 500 razors and 500s packs of Q-tips.
Upper Room Fellowship Church in Church Hill which contributed 55 cans of Vienna Sausages.
Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Rogersville which contributed four bags of assorted items.
Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Church Hill which contributed 512 packs of Band-Aids
Looneys Chapel in Surgoinsville which contributed $500.
Burem Baptist Church which contributed 500 bars of Irish Spring.
Luttrell Staffing, which contributed 500 pairs of black socks, 500 fingernail clippers, and $700.
First Methodist Church of Church Hill which contributed 500 chapsticks and 1,000 individual sunscreen packets.
First Baptist Church of Rogersville, which donated 100 pairs of socks.
Hope Community Church in Rogersville which donated 500 jars of peanut butter.
Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Rogersville which donated assorted items and electronics.
As of this week the items that they are in most need of are deodorant, feminine hygiene products, dry shampoo, Neosporin, travel-size Benadryl, bug spray, food and body powder, cloth freshener sprays, puzzle books, travel-size games, decks of cards, phone cards, snacks that have a long shelf life, and electronic accessories such as a charging chord or ear buds.
You can follow Tennie Lafollette’s colection efforts on her Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/tennie.lafollette
You can also follow the Project Serve Our Soldiers Facebook Page at: https://www.facebook.com/projectserveoursoldiers
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