But as the holidays approached, the 9-year-old Apex resident started wondering what happens to all the other soldiers who don't get to come home for Thanksgiving or Christmas. That's when she launched her ambitious plan: collect and send one million letters to the deployed soldiers in Afghanistan.

Courtney Jones said he was impressed with the compassion of Ive's mission. "I was blown back; this is her way of empathizing with both adults and kids who are experiencing the same thing our family did."

The elder Jones said letters, especially handwritten ones, are special when soldiers are far from home. "Letters are a lost art; there is a lot of innocence in a letter," he said. "To get a handwritten letter... it means so much."

Ive's campaign, "Every Letter Matters to the Deployed," consists of boxes she has decorated with yellow ribbons and displayed at Apex businesses such as Thales Academy, Eye Care Center of Apex and TAGS Gymnastics. She collects the letters, and they are sent in bulk to units deployed overseas.

"I like to cut things out of magazines and put in smiley faces," Ive said. "I want soldiers to know that someone cares about them; I'm hoping it helps morale."

Letters and Skype

Seeing his own face projected oversized on a middle school classroom wall probably would have made Specialist Robert Ramsey laugh. The joke-loving soldier and ardent fan of the cartoon "Family Guy" spoke with Lufkin Road Middle School students over Skype Nov. 17 from Afghanistan.

At the beginning of the semester, the students in Jennifer Asmus' business marketing class wrote letters asking the soldiers questions about their lives and thanking them for their service. Asmus and her students found Ramsey's unit through anysoldier.com.

Asmus' uncle is in the National Guard and has been deployed in Afghanistan, so the issues families face when someone is deployed are close to her heart.

"We have written to soldiers before, but the class before this one didn't hear back... sometimes the units are gone for weeks at a time and may be in harm's way," said Asmus.

Students including Carolina Fruehauf wrote out their questions before the scheduled Skype session. "How has the meaning of life changed you? Do you value material things as much as you used to?" she asked.

"The main thing that is difficult is being away from family," said Ramsey. "As far as material things, I'm not picky."

One of Asmus' best resources for appropriate questions to ask was Kyle Gordon, a student whose dad, an engineer, has been deployed to Afghanistan since Aug. 9. "We hope he'll be back next October," said Gordon.

Nourishing troops

Panther Creek High School junior Sammie Myers has eight members of her family who are either veterans or active duty military. When one cousin got back from Iraq, he told stories about roadside bombs and students with limited food and no school supplies.

Immediately, Myers' grandmother shipped off home-baked cookies and school supplies.

When Myers learned that her FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) club had planned a letter-writing campaign to troops overseas, she jumped right in. In October, club members created handmade cards with notes written to the soldiers.

Teacher and sponsor Joyce Reiter was impressed with the messages. "What was surprising to me was the heartfelt concern," she said. "I was so touched with their compassion and understanding."

This month, Myers and other club members baked and froze about 500 cookies - chocolate chip, peanut butter and sugar - to send to another cousin's unit in Afghanistan.

Once the club collects donations to ship the treats, the soldiers will enjoy the cookies during the holiday season.

"It's a big deal to live in a wartime," said Myers. "For many children, it can be difficult to understand. But doing little things will hopefully help them know we appreciate their efforts."