Here is the information. It's a trusted source, so I'm assuming it's not a hoax. This came from Bill Bright, who I've met at a couple conventions (and the message came to me from a mutual acquaintance).
There is a US soldier in Iraq named Cheryl Kopec who is collecting school supplies for a very poor school in Iraq. It is within a Shi'ite community inside what they call the "Sunni Triangle". There is a lot of sectarian violence there (see
http://www.iwpr.net/archive/irq/irq_27_2_eng.txt) and the Shi'ites in that particular area are culturally disadvantaged. Students in the Hatim Al Hathal school are sharing desks, four kids per desk and are even short on pens, paper, and other ordinary school supplies. It is located in the Hatimiya village, which is the poorest of the poor and there is no working sanitation, the water is dirty, and there is only limited amounts of
electricity each day.
Cheryl told us through email that she has no problem with her address being
publicized, and that she will distribute any supplies sent to her to the
school. So if you'd like to send a few notebooks, pens, pencils, paper, etc,
(or a soccer ball -they don't have those either and they like soccer
although they call it "football".) please send them to:
Cheryl Kopec and Team Leaders
V Corps,
205th MI Bde
223rd MI Bn, B Co
APO AE 09391-1378