NBTHS film crew sends video to troops overseas
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

NORTH BRUNSWICK — Members of the North Brunswick Township High School Film Production Club created a video that was recently sent to troops serving in Iraq.

Since the daughter of club adviser Carol Marks is a best friend of the son of Bronwyn Levy, who has spearheaded a local Operation Support Our Troops campaign, the students decided to make a video featuring the local community expressing their gratitude for the service of the Armed Forces overseas.

One hundred videos were included in care packages shipped in time for the holidays.

"It was important to do this because it shows what the community feels and how it affects us at home and how we miss them," club president Marissa Roth said.

"We wanted to really show we want to thank them because they are so far away. We want to show them they are not alone and that we support them," club treasurer Marissa Curcio said.

The video begins with the high school choir singing "The Star Spangled Banner" at this year's Sept. 11 ceremony, and the orchestra plays "God Bless America" throughout the rest of the footage.

The majority of the footage was shot at Heritage Day in September, showcasing various students, community members, veterans, military family members and dignitaries on film saying how proud they are, thanking the military for its protection, wishing them a speedy return home, and overall support for their mission. About 20 students alternated filming for over five hours that day to capture the spirit of North Brunswick's annual community day.T

he video also includes scenes from the township, such as Farrington Lake, Sabella Park, Regal Cinemas and McDonald's. There were also clips of a soccer game and a football game. Some students took a three-hour trip after school, driving around town to get pictures of entertainment venues, landmarks and familiar sites.

"We were trying to bring a warm, welcome home sense that they're missing," club vice president Nick Colandrea said. "They'll probably really enjoy the fact that we're supporting them, especially from the sense of us being a small community."

There were even multi-lingual well wishes in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German and Gujarati.

"Because of our different cultures, we wanted to give each culture a message," Roth said.

In addition, the film

club decided to match any donations they received at a table they set up on Heritage Day, and since they collected $40, $80 was given to Levy for shipping costs.

"Even though we're going through a rough time with the economy, we still wanted to make an effort to say what we wanted to say and to acknowledge what they are doing for our country," Roth said.

Although Levy could not say specifically where the gift packages were sent to, soldiers "in harm's way" received them in time for the holidays.

The boxes also included drawings from kids at Heritage Day, items donated by the Kendall Park Baptist Church and 1,100 letters written by Linwood Middle School students.

"This is pretty much our gift to them," said student government representative Jaritza Ortega.

"They'll know people back home still miss them and care about them, and they haven't been forgotten," said film club secretary Meagan Crawford.

Inspired by her daughter, Sarah who is a West Point cadet, and Sarah's friends, Levy undertook the Support Our Troops mission to send needed items such as lip balm, batteries, dental floss, tube socks, flip-flops, micro fiber blankets and the Sunday comics overseas to lift spirits and remind military personnel of home.

Levy is still accepting donations of shipping money, since the packages cost anywhere from $5 to $12 to send depending on their size. To make a tax-deductible donation, send a check to Operation Support Our Troops with "North Brunswick" in the mo line to Bronwyn Levy, 114 Salem Road, North Brunswick, NJ 08902- 4566.

Contact Jennifer Amato at

jamato@gmnews.com.