Vanden High students make holiday stockings for military
Vanden High students, from left to right, Sonja Thrasher, Kris Pascasio and Alyssa Paluck sew together quilts and stockings for wounded soldiers Monday in Vacaville. (Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic)
VACAVILLE — Dozens of Vanden High School students met on Veterans Day to help make holiday stockings that will be given to wounded members of the military at Travis Air Force Base.
“They do so much for us,” Alyssa Paluck, 17, a senior, said of the military.
She and other students in the National Honor Society at Vanden High prepared the stockings stuffed with beef jerky, phone cards and other items. The stockings will also be sent overseas to service members.
Tim Comer, 17, a senior, said his father Christopher, who serves in the Air Force and was in Iraq, has spoken about how much such gifts mean to the military.
Student Michaela Copp, 18, said her father David has served 22 years in the Air Force and she was happy to spend part of Veterans Day on the stocking project.
“I definitely know what the veterans have done for this country,” she said.
National Honor Society adviser Marilyn Lewis, who teaches science at Vanden High, said students in the honor society that requires a 3.5 grade point average represent a spirit many youths share.
“We get lots and lot of kids like this. They really like to help,” Lewis said. “They’re always willing to volunteer.”
About a third of Vanden High students have parents in the military, she said, and that makes for a big welcome for new students at the school.
“Everybody wants to know their name,” Lewis said. “Everybody wants to know their story.”
“Immediately they have 30 friends,” she said.
Comer, who plans to attend Duke University and study medicine, said the military families that many students come from means Vanden High has a lot fewer disciplinary problems than other schools. He said the example of his parents – his mother Shanon served in the military – helps him.
“They definitely instilled me with a sense of purpose,” he said.
The honor society will also prepare packages for people in the Philippines after the typhoon there.
Reach Ryan McCarthy at 427-6935 or rmccarthy@dailyrepublic.net.
“They do so much for us,” Alyssa Paluck, 17, a senior, said of the military.
She and other students in the National Honor Society at Vanden High prepared the stockings stuffed with beef jerky, phone cards and other items. The stockings will also be sent overseas to service members.
Tim Comer, 17, a senior, said his father Christopher, who serves in the Air Force and was in Iraq, has spoken about how much such gifts mean to the military.
Student Michaela Copp, 18, said her father David has served 22 years in the Air Force and she was happy to spend part of Veterans Day on the stocking project.
“I definitely know what the veterans have done for this country,” she said.
National Honor Society adviser Marilyn Lewis, who teaches science at Vanden High, said students in the honor society that requires a 3.5 grade point average represent a spirit many youths share.
“We get lots and lot of kids like this. They really like to help,” Lewis said. “They’re always willing to volunteer.”
About a third of Vanden High students have parents in the military, she said, and that makes for a big welcome for new students at the school.
“Everybody wants to know their name,” Lewis said. “Everybody wants to know their story.”
“Immediately they have 30 friends,” she said.
Comer, who plans to attend Duke University and study medicine, said the military families that many students come from means Vanden High has a lot fewer disciplinary problems than other schools. He said the example of his parents – his mother Shanon served in the military – helps him.
“They definitely instilled me with a sense of purpose,” he said.
The honor society will also prepare packages for people in the Philippines after the typhoon there.
Reach Ryan McCarthy at 427-6935 or rmccarthy@dailyrepublic.net.
1 comment:
How wonderful to see high school kids happily giving back to our military! They look like they are having the time of their lives!!! Congrats on the great coverage :)
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