Livonia school children stuff holiday care packages for Navy sailors abroad

Students at Saint Mary's of Livonia to send packages to 300 men, women on USS Oscar Austin

LIVONIA, Mich. – School children at Saint Mary's in Livonia are busy getting packages ready to send to a secret destination in the Indian Ocean and they are calling it "Operation Care Package."

Students in Terry Nemeth's pre-kindergarten class are making cards and care packages which are headed to 300 Navy sailors on board the USS Oscar Austin.

It all started as a geography lesson back in the fall when Nemeth began tracking the ship's path.

Nemeth said the children kept asking, "How is Santa going to get to their ship if it's in the middle of the ocean?"

So they decided to spread some Christmas cheer to the U.S . Navy.

"It snowballed into something that we never imagined it would be," said Nemeth.

The care packages include snacks, and letters that say "Happy Holidays! Thanks for keeping us safe."

It's something very special for Nemeth because her 27-year-old son Jeremy is one of the sailors on the USS Oscar Austin, and this is his first Christmas away from family this year.

"It's very hard." said Nemeth.

In the end, she's turned it all into something good, and a lesson for the children that they will never forget.

"That's what was important for them, to understand how important it is to give back," said Nemeth.

Frito Lay donated a lot of the snacks for the care packages.

The parents of the students also helped by donating the money to help pay to ship the packages.