With the holiday season upon us, I find it troublesome each dayto think of the peace and comfort my family and I enjoy whilefellow Mississippians are standing in harm’s way in Iraq. We owethem and their families so much, but we have given so little.

Mississippi has more than 2,000 National Guard and Army Reservetroops serving overseas in Iraq and the Mid-East. Their sacrificeis huge in that they are not only away from their families andjobs, but they live in daily threat of sniper attacks and suicidebombings.

Several weeks ago I wrote about a statewide effort by theMississippi Economic Council to purchase telephone calling cardsfor our troops serving as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Lastweek, 2,000 cards were purchased and sent to our troops.

A second effort has been launched to raise even more funds thatwill be used to purchase calling cards to send over beforeChristmas. Across the state, Mississippi newspapers have joined theeffort and are donating advertising space to the cause.

As I mentioned in the earlier column, one of the manyfrustrations for our troops is contacting their loved ones. Freetelephone service is provided to the armed forces, but long linesmake the effort frustrating and time consuming. Public phones areavailable, but those phones are neither free nor easy to use.

For as little as $6.50, Mississippi soldiers can have 20 minutesof telephone time to spend with their families during this holidayseason. It is a small price for a few minutes of reassuringdiscussion, but a large price for a family already struggling withthe uncertainty and financial burdens due to a father’s or amother’s service to our country.

Called the Leadership Mississippi Troop Support Fund, the MEC isusing 100 percent of the money collected to purchase calling cards.Those cards are distributed to Mississippi National Guard andMississippi Army Reserve units for disbursement to the troops.

Those wishing to donate to the effort can do so by sending acheck to: Leadership Mississippi Troop Support, PO Box 23276,Jackson, MS 39225. For more information, you can also go to the MECweb site at www.msmec.com.

The project is a wonderful cause, and one that each of us caneasily participate in to help our Mississippi troops and theirfamilies have some comfort and peace during this holidayseason.

Write to Bill Jacobs at P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven, Miss.39602, or send e-mail to bjacobs@dailyleader.com.