Thanks again, Gryphons!

I took some Operation Write Home envelopes to C. C. Griffin Middle School on Tuesday afternoon. I needed the flaps tucked inside so I can put the backs of the OWH cards into the envelopes. We like to "attach" the cards to the envelopes so they stay together if the 300+ cards get dumped on someone's cot in Afghanistan. This makes my work go faster too.

I posted a contest question on the OWH Fan Page on Facebook:

The east coast shipper is taking LOTS of envelopes to the middle school this afternoon. One of the classes is going to tuck all the flaps in the envelopes. This makes putting the back flap of a card into the envelope very easy! How many do you think 25 8th graders can do in 20 minutes?? There's a small prize for the closest guess! Polls close at midnight EST.

Mr. Williams volunteered his 7th period Social Studies class. When I told them the first guess on the fan page was 90, they rolled their eyes. Nothing like a little incentive.

I gave them a little background on OWH and what I do for the organization, and I showed them the video from the website. Then I delivered lots of envelopes to their tables.

It was interesting to watch how they organized themselves. Those that weren't good at tucking the flaps became counters and quality control.

When they had a stack of 20, they'd shout, "Twenty!" and quality control would collect the stack.

One young lady emerged as the leader, and kept things moving. I just moved around the class and grinned. All you have to do is present the problem to a group like this, and they will solve it!

How many envelope flaps can 25 eighth graders tuck in 20 minutes? 2516!

Thanks, Gryphons! You rock!