Miles Cicchelli, a 1st grade Springs Homeschool student who lives in Riverside, has “adopted” a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army deployed in Afghanistan through the Adopt a U.S. Soldier program (www.adoptaussoldier.org). The soldier has corresponded with the seven-year-old has via email, and has asked Miles to send him books as “reading is one of his favorite ways to pass the time,” said Jovana Cicchelli, Miles’ mother.
Miles is in his second year with Springs. The family chose Springs, Jovana said, “because of the freedom we have in Miles’ education. We love that we can tailor his studies to his interests and how he learns.” They’re also grateful for the support offered by their education specialist, Kim Hein. Jovana continued, “We are really happy with our decision to be a part of Springs.”
Miles has been “obsessed” with the military for the past three years, Jovana explained, and he adopted the soldier because “he wants to take care of the people who keep our country safe. And, by taking care of a soldier, it makes him feel like he is part of the military.”
Miles’ grandfather is a veteran of the U.S. Marines, and Miles hopes one day to join the military himself. A neighbor gave him a U.S. Army Ranger uniform, which he wears day and night, and other family friends who are veterans have shared their military stories with him and given him mementos of their service. Miles’ father helped customize a jeep through the Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org
In his emails with the second lieutenant, the pair has discovered that they both have a love for Star Wars. When the second lieutenant returns home, Miles plans to adopt another soldier.
Miles’ support of Adopt a U.S. Soldier began when he asked his parents to give him his own Tablet. They told him they would, but he’d have to earn the money to pay for it. The young entrepreneur began a neighborhood business pulling out his neighbors’ trash cans for pick up and putting them back afterward. He advertised his business via flyers, adopting the slogan, “I’ll pull your trash cans in and out, so YOU don’t have to!”
His parents encouraged his efforts to earn money, Kim Hein said, but they also “talked to him about ways he could use his money to be a blessing to others.” It was Miles’ idea to adopt a soldier. Once he had mailed his first care package to the solider, Kim continued, “Miles felt so happy knowing that his hard-earned money was going to make his soldier feel loved and appreciated.”
