Oakville, Burlington, Milton, Halton Hills students thank military veterans with Valentine’s message
Published February 8, 2022 at 12:34 pm
Catholic high school students in Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Halton Hills are spreading joy this Valentines to Canadian military veterans.
Students from 57 Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) classes handmade over 750 Valentines Cards as part of a program that sends messages of love to those who have proudly served our country.
Veteran’s Affairs Canada (VAC) invites schools, individuals and organizations across Canada each year to design and craft Valentines for the Valentines for Vets program.
The special Valentines messages are then sent to VAC’s head office in Prince Edward Island, where they are sorted and repackaged for distribution to veterans in long-term care facilities before Valentine’s Day.
The 750 Valentines messages sent by the HCDSB students this year, according to the VAC, is the largest distribution of Valentines for Vets in Canada.
“Thank you to our students and staff for spreading messages of love, and helping bring joy to those who have served our country so bravely,” the HCDSB said on its website.
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The Valentines for Vets program began in 1989 when the late newspaper columnist, Ann Landers, encouraged her readers to create special valentines for Veterans in care facilities throughout Canada and the United States.
Every year in a special column, Landers asked her readers to remember the sacrifices of their nations’ Veterans by making them personal hand-crafted valentines.
VAC became involved with the program in 1996, and has been receiving and distributing valentines to Veterans in care facilities across the country ever since.
Though Ann Landers passed away in 2002, VAC is committed to continuing her project of thanking Veterans.
