It's the holiday season, and all over Ohio people are getting in on the giving spirit. The Newark Advocate reported that in Granville, kids have been working since Veterans Day on a big care package project that's taken on the weight of an important mission seemingly beyond the young years of the students of Debbie Vitchner's class.
"It was supposed to just a Veterans Day lesson plan, but after seeing how much the kids enjoyed it, we decided to make it into a month long activity," Vitchner told the Advocate. "This definitely could not have happened without the help of the community."
For more than a month, Vitchner's students have reached out to Granville businesses asking for donations to the care packages. They received everything from toilet paper to soap and hair brushes. Many contributors also included a personalized holiday card.
The students turned out an impressive 124 care packages, 100 of which are on their way to veterans living in Franklin County, with the rest reserved for those in Licking County. One of the students, Tanner Riley, was proud of what he and his classmates accomplished.
"It meant a lot to help the veterans out," he told the Advocate. "We did a lot of bags in a really short period of time."
Vitchner's class wasn't the only group of Ohio residents dedicating their time help veterans in their life after service. In Eaton, the local chapter of the Blue Star Mothers of America were busy making care packages all day on Saturday, Dec. 5. According to Pal-Item, every woman in attendance had a child currently serving in the military.
The mothers collected small Christmas gifts, snacks and practical items.
"We have set a goal for ourselves of 200 boxes and 50 homeless veterans bags," chapter president Linda Samuels told Pal-Item. "This is just our small way of showing them how much we appreciate them and all they do."