What Do Soldiers Need? Beanie Babies and Beef Jerky

What could Beanie Babies and beef jerky possibly have in common? A lot more than you might think, thanks to Ron's Afghanistan Beanie Babies Project.

Retired Col. Davis Stevenson, a member of the Norcross Business Association, has been sending both items to troops stationed in Afghanistan every Wednesday as part of the project. The stuffed animals are given to injured Afghan children while the troops get to have the treats of beef jerky.  

"I wanted to do something for the troops overseas,'" said Stevenson, 80, who was also in the service from 1951 to 1984, stationed all over the world. "It lets them know that the folks back home care."

Ron's Afghanistan Beanie Babies Project started only a month ago when Stevenson was speaking with Afghanistan soldier Ron Bolen, his goddaughter's husband. Stevenson has been keeping contact with Bolen after he became stationed in Afghanistan earlier this year. As a commander in the Navy, a flight nurse and head of a trauma unit in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Bolen stays quite busy in the service, but he wanted to do something nice for the children he helps. 

"I picked up on it, and I got it started," said Stevenson, who also runs his own travel agency, Condor Outfitters Inc., with his daughter.

So every week, the retired colonel stops by the USPS to send a $13.95 flat-rate APO box through the Army Postal Office to Bolen, who distributes the jerky and gives the toys to the kids.

"It really does brighten these children's days," said Bolen in an email to Stevenson. "I am giving several to the flight medics, and they are using them to help the kids when they fly them as patients."

A handful of people have donated Beanie Babies and other stuffed animals so far, and Stevenson even noted that one woman stopped by with three large boxes of plush toys just this week. He's also received multiple phone calls from people who promise to give him more stuffed animals, too. 

As for the beef jerky, Stevenson has been purchasing it straight from his own pocket so far. He goes to a local Kroger grocery store, but is trying to see if he can purchase a bulk-sized case of the food from a friend. 

With all the effort Stevenson puts into the project, it already seems to have paid off: In one particular story reported by an OnlineMail article, a 7-year-old Afghan girl was being treated in his trauma unit after she was shot in the back by the Taliban, and in one of the article's photos, the girl's father can be seen clutching a stuffed animal from Ron's Afghanistan Beanie Babies Project.

"She smiled so big after we treated her, when I gave her one of Uncle Steve's bears," said Bolen in another email. 

So far, Stevenson is the only person pursuing the project in the U.S., but he hopes to get others involved once the word and flyers get out there. He wants to send more animals and jerky every week, but with the shipping and food costs, it can add up. 

Even though Bolen is only scheduled to stay in Afghanistan until the end of the year, Stevenson hopes to continue the project afterward. "If he wants me to continue, we will," said Stevenson. 

To donate small stuffed animals or beef jerky, or if one's interested in volunteering for Ron's Afghanistan Beanie Babies Project, contact retired Col. Davis Stevenson at 770-656-5178. 

Editor's Note: Ron Bolen was mistakenly named as Ron Lee in the original version of this article. We apologize for the mistake.