American Girl event to send packages to U.S. soldiers
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

At John R. Briggs, members of the Fifth Grade October Student Council (back row) Cody Bates, Julia Enright, Rachel Dansky, Amanda Dewick, Hannah Bollous, and Greg Barry are helping to encourage students to donate goods to send to U.S. soldiers stationed overseas. (Front row) Adrienne Mercier and Emily Pilsbury plan to attend American Girl event on Saturday, Nov. 17. COURTESY PHOTO

Area girls are invited to a luncheon and craft event that two local mothers will host to teach them about history, to support the troops and to have fun.

Becky Pilsbury and Deb Mercier are organizing an American Girls luncheon for which they hope there will be 50 girls from the area attending at the Ashburnham Community Church on Saturday, Nov. 17. One of the main activities at the event will be the chance for the girls to help pack boxes to send to the United States troops overseas in Iraq.

"We came up with the troops because it correlates with Molly," said Mercier.

Molly, is one of the American Girls dolls created 1986 that represent life in America in a variety of time periods through characters portrayed in dolls and their accessories, books and most recently movies.

Molly McIntire is a 9-year-old character in 1944, whose father is doctor with the United States military stationed in England, while her mother is working in a factory and taking care of Molly and her siblings.

"We just want to bring a little bit of reality home for the girls," said Mercier, a mother of four girls.

The girls will have to chance to "purchase" items for the boxes using ration tickets to match the same type of shopping that Molly would have done in the 1940s during World War II.

The pair of women are collecting donations of a variety of goods for the boxes to send to the soldiers. There are boxes for the donations at John R. Briggs Elementary School and they are looking for donations to pay for the postage of the boxes.

Mercier and Pilsbury have tried to collected items that soldiers have asked for Web sites like anysoldier.com. They said they are trying to collect small toys (such as Beanie Babies and Matchbox cars), toiletry items, hard candy and small items to pack.

"We're hoping to get these to local soldiers," said Pilsbury.

To sponsor a box the mailing cost is $8.95.

The food will served as part of Victorian Era Tea to honor the American Girl character Samantha Parkington, who lives with her grandmother in New York in 1904.

There will be crafts for the girls to created representing a variety of the other characters as well.

Mary Ruth, of Ashburnham, will also tell the girls about her life growing up especially during the Depression and World War II.

Mercier said she hopes this might be able to help the girls have conversations with their grandparents and look at history in a different way.

Mercier organized a similar event last year, which was also based on the American Girl collection.

"My daughter was begging me to put on another American Girl event," she said.

Both Mercier and Pilsbury daughters will be attending the event.

There is limited seating and the pair is hoping that all tickets will be sold before the event.

The event is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Tickets cost $15 per girl and $10 per accompanying adult. Ticket orders must be mailed to Becky Pilsbury at 66 Cory Hill Road, Ashburnham, MA 01430. People with questions can call Pilsbury at (978) 827-6663 or e-mail her at beckymp411@ yahoo.com or call Mercier at (978) 827- 5393 or e-mail her at dtbdca@netzero.net.