HOW TO HELP* To donate, call Marsha Findlay at 803-530-0512* Drop-off point: Collegedale City Hall, 4910 Swinyar Drive, Collegedale; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 8 a.m.-noon Friday.
U.S. Army Capt. Michael Findlay spent nearly nine years learning to lead soldiers in preparation for his seven-month tour in Iraq, but the most satisfying experience of his tour came from kicking a soccer ball around with a small Iraqi child.
"That was probably the best day I had in Iraq," Findlay said. "It kind of made you feel like a rock star. All of these Iraqi kids swarming to see you."
That soccer ball and children's toys -- all donated -- built a lot of good will for him and his fellow soldiers, Findlay said.
During his time in Iraq, when a platoon in his unit -- the 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery of the 1st Infantry Division -- began sharing some of the gifts sent from home with children in Kirkuk, Iraq, he saw a way to spread the idea.
So with the help of his parents here he started a donation program of gifts for the Iraqi children. Though he's home now and isn't scheduled for another deployment, he plans to work through his chaplain to continue the program with another unit deployed to Afghanistan, he said.
The 26-year-old Wisconsin native returned from his tour in early December for some holiday time off. His parents, Marsha and Mark Findlay, moved to the Chattanooga area less than two years ago for work, so the Tennessee Valley is his adopted home.
Findlay described desperate living conditions in Iraq -- children running barefoot through trash, broken glass and metal as they kicked dirty, patched-up, half-deflated soccer balls.
After seeing the reaction of children when soldiers shared gifts from home, he phoned his mom.
"He called and said, 'I might have a project,'" Marsha Findlay said.
Marsha and Mark began talking with about everyone they came across, seeing if people would donate items or money for shipping.
"I would hit up everybody," Marsha Findlay said.
Mercedes-Benz of Chattanooga made a contribution to help pay for shipping, and Mark Findlay's bosses at TVA allowed Findlay, TVA's general manager of nuclear security operations, to put up fliers.
TVA employees from across the Tennessee Valley collected 55 soccer balls for troops in Iraq to distribute.
"If a simple soccer ball can reduce the tension and keep Mike and his men safer, then it's a pretty good investment," the father said.
Felipe Granada works with the American Legion Post 257 in Collegedale and has helped collect and ship the items. With the Findlays' help he plans to continue the work with a unit in Afghanistan.
From August to December, the Findlays said they shipped 80 soccer balls and at least 100 stuffed animals to the unit for distribution by the soldiers.
Staff writer Pam Sohn contributed to this story.