DE PERE — Members of the De Pere High School Key Club gathered on Wednesday, Oct. 28, to assemble care packages for those who served our country and are now in assisted living or hospice, ahead of Veterans Day.
Matt Colwell, project coordinator and Quartermaster for Desert Veterans of Wisconsin, said he has been helping to coordinate this project for about 17 years and this is the second year that the high schoolers have helped participate in the assembling.
“The overall budget is about five grand for this, and it comes out of our funds that people donate to throughout the year, and there are some that donate specifically to this cause,” said Colwell.
Around 90 care packages were assembled, consisting of items such as warm winter items, personal care and hygiene items, a green blanket reminiscent of the standard military issued blanket from years ago, and several other items including personal cards from students in the area.
“The kids make cards and those come from kids around various schools from elementary to high school, and that really is the biggest part of it. Those cards are the things the Veterans cherish the most,” said Colwell.
“It’s absolutely incredible. It brings them back to a special place — that group that I visit was part of that generation where getting mail was so important. Getting cards was so important to them when they were overseas, so being able to see their face when they see these packages, especially the cards, is absolutely incredible.”
De Pere Redbirds Key Club is in their second year of assisting with the project by donating their time to help assemble the packages.
De Pere High School Senior Lillianna Graf said that having the opportunity to serve her community in a meaningful way has been an experience she will cherish for years to come.
“I’ve been in Key Club for a couple of years and serving is really important to me, especially Veterans since my dad was in the Navy. Getting to do something for people connected to the military is really important to me,” said Graf.
In addition to assembling the care packages, the students have the opportunity to meet the Veterans receiving them in person when they are distributed.
“It’s really special to meet them when you are making the care packages for them because you get to feel like it’s more personal,” added Graf.
The care packages are intended for Veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam and will be delivered the week of Veterans Day.
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