AMAZING AMERICA

On Thursday, a local group collecting Christmas gifts for soldiers had 1,200 shoeboxes to ship overseas but needed about $1,500 within 24 hours to pay for postage.

Their cry for help did not go unheeded by Southeast Missouri residents. By Friday evening, $9,000 had poured in, along with 600 more shoeboxes filled with gifts for soldiers serving in Kuwait and Baghdad. That's in addition to roughly $2,500 donated before Friday.

"I've been in tears all day," said organizer Tina Plaskie of Jackson, whose husband has been stationed in Baghdad since May. "If I could tell those people who donated anything, it would be God bless you and thank you."