TAMPA, Fla. — Appreciation is just one of the words that comes to mind for several Cambridge Christian middle schoolers during their letter-writing campaign for veterans.
What You Need To Know
Cambridge Christian middle schoolers wrote letters to veterans
The letters are part of the school’s “Love Thy Neighbor” campaign
Letters will be distributed by the Camaraderie Foundation
For each letter there’s a special meaning for students like 13-year-old Bentley Bazzel and 12-year-old Sophia Boone, who have veterans in their family.
This is a portion of both their letters:
“Dear veteran, thank you so much for your service and sacrifices for our country and my freedom. I hope you feel proud of what you have done,” Bentley wrote.
“Dear veteran, my name is Sophia and I’m in 7th grade. I wanted to write this letter to thank you for all you have done for our country,” Sophia wrote.
For Cambridge Christian School civics teacher Matt Richie, this is a lesson for him and his students.
“I had a father that served in the Korean War. He just turned 92 two weeks ago. He served Korea, came home, had eight children. He put food on the table, shoes on our feet, clothes on our back, fostered two more children,” Richie said.
It’s what a hero looks like for him and for these students diligently writing, so he knew how important it was to bring in a hero for them to meet.
“First of all, let me thank you for these letters,” retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Kent Lightner said to Richie’s class. “I was serving in Iraq in 2008 when I got a bunch of letters similar to the ones that you are writing, and everybody was pretty excited and motivated that there were school children that were thinking of us and appreciated the sacrifice we were giving on behalf of our nation.”
The letters will be sent out across Tampa Bay and Central Florida through the Camaraderie Foundation, an organization that supports veterans’ mental health initiatives and PTSD awareness.
Cambridge Christian Head of School Shawn Minks said the letters are part of the school’s “Love Thy Neighbor” campaign where they look for ways to serve the community.
“It’s an opportunity for them to understand that there are things bigger than us,” Minks said. “One of the key components even to our mission statement at the school is service. And for them to get a glimpse of one of the highest forms of service is a great learning experience.”