For Olive-Mary Stitt School fourth-grader John Skidmore, spending his lunch hour Monday crafting homemade valentines for local veterans was well worth the effort.
“It’s important because we’re giving the veterans support,” said John, 9, and one of hundreds of students at the Arlington Heights District 25 school who joined forces for February’s Character Counts! service learning project.
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Teachers at Olive have for years conveyed the importance of students following the six character “pillars” promoted by the national program, which include, trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.
But this year, the school’s PTA members decided to expand the effort by launching monthly student service learning projects that bring each of the six character pillars to life.
“We are connecting our students to the character pillars, and raising them to have global-minded thinking,” said parent Rachael Hooker, the PTA’s co-chairwoman of the Character Counts! program.
“Every month, we’re doing a project where the kids are giving back,” added parent Christine Gilbert, who serves as a co-chairwoman of the program. “These projects are simple things, but as parents, we hope we’re planting the seeds in kids early on.”
The homemade valentines crafted by the Olive students this week will be delivered to veterans at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago. Previous service projects include collecting winter clothing and canned goods, and a fundraiser at the school’s annual ice cream social that raised enough cash to buy 1,700 meals for the national non-profit, No Kid Hungry.
“By making these valentines, the students are showing their respect and gratitude for the men and women who served our country,” Olive’s Asst. Principal Erin Davis said. “The kids do get it, and I think that’s one of the things that has always made Olive so special. It’s not just one day a month, but every day, and it’s who they are.”
Carson Phillips, 10, said his grandfather is a Vietnam veteran, which helps him understand the importance of the school’s recent Valentine’s Day-themed service project.
“We’re doing this to make all the veterans happy,” Carson said.
Twitter: @kcullotta