TJ Spartans help create Valentines Cards for soldiers.
Photo Courtesy of Jacquelyn Raila
TJ English teacher, Jacquelyn Raila, devised a plan to reach out to the soldiers for Valentine’s Day, by hand making each card with her Avid and Leadership classes and having students from TJ sign them. Later the cards got shipped to Walter Reed Memorial Hospital just in time for Valentines Day.
The idea for the cards came from a friend of Railas’. “I received an e-mail from one of my friends about helping out and making cards for the wounded soldiers for Christmas. It was too late for that, however, so I decided to make cards for Valentine’s Day instead,” said Raila. “Mail means a lot to a soldier. When they physically receive something, they know that there is someone out there that supports them and loves them,” said Raila.
The Avid class worked diligently in creating and signing the cards each day. Freshman Courtney Sorrell is one of the many students who has helped to create and sign cards, “This is a fun project that we have to do. It lets us show the soldiers that we still care about them and what they are doing out there.”
There is also another motive that Raila has in mind by working on the cards. “There is a weekly DPS newspaper that goes out to all the teachers and TJ has never been recognized for all the great things that we do,” said Raila. “I hope that this will put TJ under a better light for the community and show all the other schools that we have spirit, too.”
TJ touches the hearts of many soldiers with friendly greetings. Artwork by Anna Becker
The Avid class has also partnered up with Jon Poole’s leadership group to achieve better results. Senior Kevin Kumar was assigned to help out for the project by making announcements and handcrafting the cards. “This is a very interesting project. I have never done arts and crafts so this was something new for me. It’s also nice to know that this is helping our troops and giving back to the community,” said Kumar.
The process for creating these cards has its own unique steps and order. “First we have to make the card. Each card has its own personality and design. Mrs. Raila has provided us with different stamps, designs, and adhesive objects to decorate the cards,” said Kumar. It takes significant time to make the cards, but the students acknowledge that it is going for a greater cause. The cards were then distributed to classrooms so that students could have the opportunity to sign a card of their own.
Raila says she feels that this project is sure to have a moving impact on the wounded soldiers from Iraq. “This is a great way of giving back to our nation. I am planning to make cards for the troops for every upcoming holiday. It will get my kids involved and give a good feel attitude,” said Raila.
