By Patricia Bogumil
Fox River Middle School students first celebrated Veterans Day Nov. 6 with traditional patriotic songs, poems, speeches and artwork at a community event hosted by Integrity Funeral Services/Archie Monuments at the Cotton Exchange.
They followed up with another enthusiastic patriotic presentation Monday during a Veterans Day assembly at school.
Then, to keep the momentum going, the kids have kicked off another round of “penny wars” fundraising for veterans.
Like last year’s penny wars, some Fox River students are spearheading a collection drive to send at least one war veteran (they collected enough to send three last year) on a one-day visit to the memorials and museums in Washington, D.C. through the national Honor Flight program.
“Thousands and thousands of veterans have never seen the memorial built for them, and what good is a memorial if the people it’s for never get to see it?” explained Katiann Nelson, one of the students leading this year’s “Clash of the Coins” drive.
A year ago, the fundraiser was largely a friends-family-neighbors kind of collection. This year, the kids invite the whole community to join in the 2013 “Clash for the Coins.”
“It’s a wonderful experience, being able to raise money for the veterans and for Honor Flight,” Katiann said. The money needed to send one veteran and his/her attendant is about $500, she noted.
Donations can be mailed to or dropped off at the Fox River Middle School office, 921 W. Main St., (514-8240) by Monday, Nov. 18, or made online any time at www.honorflight.org. The 2013 fundraiser is again led by eighth-graders in Fox River’s talented and gifted program.
Besides Katiann, they include Justin Pankowski, Hannah Hinners, Callie Shaw, Patrick Goldammer, Keegan Northrop, Jacob Yoder, Wyatt Woitowicz and
Graeme Gross.
Teachers Janita Underly, Kevin Wilde and Beth Kurz are overseeing the project.
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