District 189 students to support, learn about veterans

EAST ST. LOUIS - Students in East St. Louis District 189 will spend Veterans Day week honoring, assisting and learning about the contributions and sacrifices of service people – and the struggles some of them face today.

The Corporation for National and Community Service, Serve Illinois and the Illinois Department of Veteran’s Affairs are coming together with East St. Louis schools to create a week dedicated to community service projects that will recognize and aid veterans in our communities including those who count on The Joseph Center for assistance.

“Working with The Joseph Center has been an honor,” said Katie Childs, AmeriCorps member at Mason-Clark Middle School. “Their willingness to speak to the Mason-Clark students and their engagement in the planning process has been more than generous.”

As part of the project, East St. Louis School District 189 from Nov. 6-10 will hold a canned food drive donation in Mason-Clark and Lincoln Middle Schools and at East St. Louis Senior High School. Students and faculty are asked to donate canned food or other non-perishable items to benefit the residents of The Joseph Center, a homeless shelter for veterans in East St. Louis.

AmeriCorps Members serving with East St. Louis School District 189 are also coordinating with Mason-Clark Middle School to bring in guest speakers to social studies classes to speak with the students about their service and what it means to them to be a veteran. Students at Mason-Clark will create thank you cards and letters for all residents at The Joseph Center to express appreciation for their service.

The Joseph Center, which opened in 2009, is a 26-bed not-for-profit facility located on State Street. Its goal is to help homeless veterans rejoin the community by making them self-sufficient and economically independent.

“I'm grateful the students will have an opportunity to learn first-hand about the work being done to support veterans in East St. Louis,” Childs said. “I'm equally grateful that District 189 AmeriCorps volunteers and students are able to contribute to the mission and good work of the Joseph Center through the food drive."

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