Every time a wave of boxes filled with candy, letters, drawings and other goodies arrived in Afghanistan from Totem Middle School, it raised morale within the 22nd Engineer Clearance Company, Hooligan Nation.

The middle school adopted the 35-member platoon last year as part of the Adopt-a-Platoon program, in partnership with PEMCO Insurance. The platoon received 13 boxes throughout its deployment, Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Porter said.

“It’s nice to have people who don’t know you reach out and try to support you,” he said during a phone interview. “It feels good to have people you don’t know cheering you on.”

The soldiers in Porter’s platoon especially appreciated the letters and drawings sent by Totem students and wrote thank you letters in return, he said.

The middle school students — not so far away in age from some of the young adults serving in the military — in return learned how to be respectful and compassionate and made a global impact, said Shannon McCann, a teacher at Totem.

The school is waiting to hear which platoon they will adopt this year, but the student government already set a goal of 16 boxes to fill with letters and goodies for soldiers overseas.

In honor of Veterans Day, the school will host an assembly in the school gym at 9 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 10. The community is invited to attend and donations to add to this year’s boxes will be accepted at the assembly.

Some members of Hooligan Nation will attend the assembly and share their stories. A PEMCO Insurance representative will also speak to students about how this kind of community service can further college and career goals.

The school has partnered with PEMCO Insurance, Royal Cup Coffee and Admiral Starbucks in West Seattle to participate in the program this year.

The school was approached by PEMCO Insurance last year and invited to participate in the program. Writing letters and donating Halloween candy is an opportunity for all the students in the diverse school to participate, regardless of socioeconomic background, McCann said.

The students were supportive of the idea and of veterans.

“The student letters were so heartfelt,” she said.

Many students have a military connection and the program allowed them to share stories and experiences. The students also recognized the impact they had on the soldiers. Hooligan Nation wrote a thank you letter to the school.

“The students and the staff were blown away to get a letter from Afghanistan,” McCann said.

Students remembered the program from last year, which is a big deal for middle school students, McCann said. The program is on its way to becoming a tradition.