Cleveland: Packing party sends movies, music to troops in war zones

CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Thanks to a volunteer "packing party'' Saturday, thousands of Americans in battle zones soon will have some music and movies from home.

Tables of donated and new CDs and DVDs, and the shipping boxes for them, were waiting at the Cleveland High School commons to be delivered overseas from Tunes 4 the Troops.

It was Kaylee Marie Radzyminski's last packing party for Tunes 4 the Troops, an organization she founded as a Cleveland High freshman four years ago.

Since then the project has sent 504,000 boxes of entertainment to combat-stressed Americans. More than 200 spinoff projects have started around the country and drawn national media attention.

Miss Radzyminski has appeared on many national news broadcasts and was a finalist as a CNN Hero.

"Tunes 4 the Troops will hopefully continue on,'' Miss Radzyminski said, "because we have satellite locations all across the country that will continue to be doing this.''

Stephanie Radzyminski, Miss Radzyminski's mother, said an international satellite group recently began in England.

Future donations will be sent directly to the troops from those satellite locations.

"The satellite locations were started as a way to save money," Miss Radzyminski said. "Now they will allow movies and music to flow to war zones even without me."

She will still work some with the project, but Miss Radzyminski is going to Tennessee Technological University next month on a four-year U.S. Army ROTC scholarship.

When the packing party was over Saturday, more than 80 large boxes were taken to the local post office for shipment. Other boxes were packed to take to the local Tennessee National Guard armory for units leaving here for Afghanistan.