Jessica understands the fact that freedom isn’t free. She knows that because children of military parents also have to pay the price of having their fathers and mothers gone for extended periods of time when they serve, she selected to do a series of special mitzvah projects for them and their families.

Jessica is the daughter of Brandy and Eddie Scheer of Chesterfield; Brandy works for Employer Support for the National Guard and Reserve. Through her involvement with her mother in some of the outreach activities, Jessica saw that there was a need to support the children of deployed military.

“I’ve heard stories about how families are separated from one another when the mom or dad goes overseas to serve our country, and I feel that I can serve our country by bringing a little something special into their lives,” said Jessica.

Jessica teamed up with Operation Homefront for her first project. She collected books, toys and stuffed animals and packaged them into 50 gift bags for local deploying soldiers to present to their children prior to their leave for service. Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit organization, provides emergency financial and other assistance to the families of our service members and wounded warriors.

Her second project was face painting for the kids who attended the Naval Operations Support Center (NOSC) military family day. “Once I found out that I would get to work with kids, paint their faces and do their nails, I was very excited to be a part of it,” Jessica said. The NOSCs provide ready and fully integrated Sailors to the fleet on a daily basis.

At the kick-off program for the Regional Alliance for the Troops (RAFTT) event, Jessica worked with the Rams Cheerleaders to make care packages to send to our deployed military members overseas. When her mother told her that she would help connect the military community with resources that are available to them, Jessica was most eager to volunteer. RAFTT is a partnership of organizations dedicated to the support of service members, veterans, and their families who live in the St. Louis area. 

Lastly, Jessica took her Torah portion about hospitality to heart and used some of her bat mitzvah money to create four Thanksgiving holiday baskets. Everything from the roasting pan to a $20 gift card for the turkey to the ingredients for a pumpkin pie was included. Each basket was then given to a military family that was struggling with their finances at that time. Jessica shopped with her mother for the items and packaged them beautifully in gift bags. Her brother Brad designed a special card to go on the dinner gift bags and then delivered them to the Operation Homefront office.

A student at Crestview Middle School, Jessica said, “We are very lucky to have people who serve our country to keep us safe. Everyone should support them; it is our way of serving our country, even as kids. Doing things like my projects is how I can serve them and my country because taking care of their families while they are deployed or serving our country is one of the most important things to them.” Jessica’s parents like to call her their very own American Girl Doll.