By: Donovan W. Mann – donovanm@977thebolt.com
Humboldt, IA – The students at Taft Elementary School are supporting their peers by shipping Valentines to their deployed family members.
While many spend Valentine’s Day with their loved ones and family members there are those who are unable to because they are actively serving the country overseas. The students at Taft Elementary School in Humboldt wanted to assure that at least three units were not without a Valentine this year.
School Counselor Liz Dent helped organize the shipping of three packages full of Valentines to different units world-wide. She says the idea came about because one teacher knew of a student with a deployed parent.
“She had brought up this idea that, you know, could something be sent over there” Dent says. The idea was first thought of back in November around Thanksgiving. The counselor thought it was a good idea especially when reflecting on how many people in the community have deployed family members.
Dent says the students were excited to make the Valentines because to many of them it’s very personal. Several students do have family members deployed. The three packages sent out were sent specifically to the units of three parents with students at Taft. This was so a parent could get a Valentine from their child and their child’s classroom.
“Our kids are so caring” Dent says. The ability to get to support one of their own got the students very excited. “They were all about it.”
As an educator Dent is really happy to see the young students be excited to be involved in this project. “It makes me so proud to see that” she says. The counselor notes that the students at Taft are “just incredibly kind, overall.” She calls it a “wonderful thing” to see young students get excited to support their peers and their families. “Humboldt is such a supportive community and I see that even down to the kids in our school.”
Liz Dent says several hundred Valentines were separated into the three packages. Two of the packages were sent to the Middle East and the other to Africa. They had to be mailed out in December in order to get there in time.
It is confirmed that at least one of the packages made it to their destination in time for Valentine’s Day.
Featured photo courtesy of Humboldt IA Elem on Twitter.