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Tribe featured on WRAL for good deed

WRAL-TV recently documented the meeting of the Dancing Daisies tribe and the Naval officer they sent care packages to. (video)

It all started as a simple community service project for the girls of the Dancing Daisies Princesses tribe, but turned into a mutual friendship - thousands of miles away.

Recently, in a North Raleigh home, the girls of the Dancing Daisies tribe waited to meet their new friend and hero.

His name is Dennis Volpe, a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, but to the girls, he was just known as a man in our military doing his job to protect the United States. The girls decided that because of the very noble thing he was doing for our country, they would send him a care package from back home to let him know someone was thinking about him.

The girls did what they could to earn additional “wampum” that could be used to buy various items to put in the care package. “We saved up as much wampum as we could and wanted to put it to a good cause,” said Brennan Elms. And then each girl went shopping with their Big Brave. What did they get? Well, what anyone might miss when they are thousands of miles away in an area like Afghanistan. “We bought a lot of candy bars, magazines, movie videos, peanut butter, microwaveable popcorn, foot powder and anything else we thought a soldier might need,” said Gretchen Stanicek. And they crammed it all into a box bound for the Middle East.

“We just wanted to say thank you to the troops fighting overseas,” said Lindsey Madden. “And, sending them the comforts of home seemed like a good way to do it.”

Volpe, who has since returned from Afghanistan and lives in Jacksonville, Florida, said some of the best days in his year overseas were when the girls' care packages arrived. He was only too happy to share with the troops serving around him.

“You’re away from the stuff you are used to," Volpe said. "You will have a package there or you won't. And when you do, it brightens your day, and you want to share it with the people around you."