Valentines For Veterans Is A Note From Home
People of all ages helped to make Valentines for active duty personnel. The event was held at Penn Central Mall this past week.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Inside the warm confines of Penn Central Mall, the tables were set up, and the crafting supplies were dispersed, waiting for creative hands.
Those creative hands went to work making Valentine cards for current active duty service members deployed overseas. “That way we can give them a little touch of home,” said Darrin Alderson, Fifth District Commander for the American Legion in Iowa. “It kind of brightens their spirits up.”
“I remember when I was deployed, you didn’t get much from home or care packages, so it’s just something for our post and our veterans here in Oskaloosa to give back to our community,” added Alderson.
Alderson says he’s aware of 14 active duty service members out of our county “and I know there’s more than that.”
If members of the public know of an active duty service member, Alderson said to reach out to the American Legion in Oskaloosa. “If you call there after 3 o’clock, they’ll take the information down and get it to me, and then we’ll go from there.”
Also working with the Oskaloosa American Legion is Caleb Gipple, a North Mahaska graduate and now a student at UNI, and his fraternity is also making Valentines this year as one of their community service projects. “They will be sending them down here as well to go with our group,” added Alderson.
Alderson says there are good stories to come out of the Valentines project.
“That’s kind of what the American Legion’s about, we continue to serve our communities and take care of the veterans and our service members,” added Alderson.
This is a special year for the American Legion in Oskaloosa as they will be celebrating serving the past and present service members and the community for the past 100 years.
Alderson says that some announcements are forthcoming for the centennial celebration, including a golf tournament which is scheduled for June 22nd.
You can keep up with all the activities happening at the Oskaloosa American Legion by following them on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Harry-L-Anderson-American-Legion-Post-34-1183469308345908/
