While the Fourth of July holiday is a welcome summer break for many, Jordan Prescott is anxious to get back to work.

The 13-year-old is taking a week off from his work at Greenville's Give2TheTroops. The nonprofit organization, which supports America's armed forces with letters and packages, is closed this week for the Independence Day holiday.

(ENLARGE)

(ENLARGE)

Contributed photo Jordan Prescott sits in a Blackhawk helicopter at a Give2TheTroops fundraiser.

"I don't like them taking breaks because that means I don't have anything to do," said Jordan, a regular volunteer for Give2TheTroops. Jordan, a rising eighth-grader at Hope Middle School, spends two or three days a week during the summer at Give2TheTroops' Landmark Street branch, where he writes cards and letters to troops and helps package donations to be shipped overseas.

"Once you get in there, it doesn't really seem like it's work," Jordan said. "It's fun for me."

Since it was founded in December 2002, Give2TheTroops has supplied hundreds of thousands of deployed U.S. troops with care packages and letters from across the nation. Give2TheTroops has branches in nine states. The Greenville-based North Carolina branch is the largest.

Jordan, who often brings family members to work at Give2TheTroops with him, said the sacrifice of servicemen in his own family has helped inspire him to give back to the U.S. military. His stepfather is a former Marine, and several family members in past generations were also in service.

Barbara Whitehead, branch director for Greenville's Give2TheTroops location, said Jordan has become a fixture at the local office, where he has taken on tasks from helping to instruct other volunteers to preparing a Give2TheTroops float for a local Christmas parade.

"He is just an amazing young man," Whitehead said. "He is actually doing the same level of projects that we see our university students doing."

Whitehead is not the only one to notice Jordan's volunteer efforts. His work has recently gained him honors from organizations that recognize youth for community service. Earlier this month, Jordan was a recipient of a President's Volunteer Service Award. Last week, he was named a regional winner in the Kohl's Kids Who Care Scholarship Program. The program, sponsored by Kohl's department stores, honored 170 young people nationwide for their volunteer efforts.

"Each year we are overwhelmed by the selflessness displayed by these young people nationwide," Julie Gardner, Kohl's executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said in a prepared statement. "We are proud of their achievements in transforming their communities."

Jordan did not set out to create change when he started with Give2TheTroops nearly two years ago.

"It kind of started as a church mission project for our RA (Royal Ambassadors) group, and I guess it sort of stuck," he said. "Part of it was I got a sense of pride I guess from knowing that something I did helped people."

Whitehead said Jordan not only writes letters and packs supplies, he has become an ambassador of sorts for the group, traveling to military bases and community organizations to explain the purpose of Give2TheTroops. His public awareness efforts, including appearances in local Christmas parades, have earned him the nickname of "Special Events Coordinator" at the Greenville branch.

Jordan said it is not the public appearances but the quiet acknowledgement he receives from troops that motivates him to continue. Many service men and women write thank-you notes to Give2TheTroops. Some send letters back on the same stationery that the organization provides troops to write home to their families.

"They'll write a letter back that says they haven't talked to their family in three years or more," Jordan said. "The simplest thank you means so much to me."

Some of the letters from service men and women simply express gratitude that people support them despite the political controversy surrounding the war.

"In today's society, there are a lot of people who are totally opposed to the war," Jordan said. "You don't have to support the war, but it doesn't mean that you can't support the people that are volunteering to risk their life to serve in it."

Compared with their efforts, Jordan said, his volunteer work seems like a small sacrifice. But it's one he plans to continue as long as it is needed."I plan on being in there the first day that they're back open," he said.

Give2TheTroops, 3109 Landmark St., is closed until July 12 and will be closed Mondays this month. Regular volunteer center hours are 2:30-7:30 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays and 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays. E-mail Barbara Whitehead, NC Branch director, at Barbara@Give2thetroops.org or call 321-8227.