Agoura Hills woman produces children’s song for military charity





GRATEFUL—Nancy Levy performs her song, “Carry my Love,” to benefit Operation Gratitude. Levy is a preschool music teacher at Temple Adat Elohim in Thousand Oaks.

GRATEFUL—Nancy Levy performs her song, “Carry my Love,” to benefit Operation Gratitude. Levy is a preschool music teacher at Temple Adat Elohim in Thousand Oaks.

Nancy Levy of Agoura Hills has found a creative way to help her country.

A preschool music teacher at Temple Adat Elohim in Thousand Oaks, Levy wrote and recorded the song “Carry My Love” to benefit Operation Gratitude, a nonprofit group that sends care packages to members of the U.S. military and their children, veterans groups and other organizations related to military service.

Children from the temple’s junior choir, Shirei Elohim, sing the chorus of the song. They produced the song with Levy under the direction of Cantor David Shukiar.

The song was released in April, designated the Month of the Military Child in 1986 by defense secretary Caspar Weinberger.

Levy’s song tells of longing, love and the bravery of military families, including the children who are left behind when their parents are away serving their country. The lyrics touch on the sentiments of children who miss their mother or father.

The stanza “I draw wings on the backs of my letters that will carry my love to you” expresses a child’s longing to connect with a parent who is gone for a prolonged period of time.

Levy said the song was written for the children and their deployed parents to highlight the importance of the letters they write to each other.

Levy said all the proceeds from the song are being donated to Operation Gratitude. The organization, founded by Carolyn Blashek, has sent more than 850,000 personal care packages to military men and women since it was founded in 2003.

Each care package sent by Operation Gratitude contains donated products and costs the organization $15 to assemble and ship.

Operation Gratitude expects to mail its 1 millionth package in December, Levy said.

In 2011, Operation Gratitude created a program to support the children of military parents. The Battalion Buddy care package contains a stuffed animal wearing a tag that says, “Hi, Brave Young Warrior! I am your Battalion Buddy. I am here to cuddle with you while your Mommy or Daddy is away.”

More than 60,000 children have received a Battalion Buddy care package, Levy said.

A resident of Agoura Hills, Levy has been an early education music teacher for 25 years.

Levy has a website, “Nancy’s Circle of Friends,” through which she supports several charitable organizations, but the “Carry My Love” song was produced specifically to fund Operation Gratitude.

The cost to download the song is 99 cents, and purchasers may donate additional funds.

To download the song, visit www.nancyscircleoffriends.com.


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