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Nativity student named winner of VFW Patriot’s Pen Essay Competition
Rebecca Hensler, an eighth-grade student at Nativity School, has been named as the Third Place winner in District 29 Veterans of Foreign Wars and it’s Ladies Auxiliary Patriot’s Pen Essay Competition. At the local level, 13 students from several schools were chosen as winners for their essays’ merits, which addressed the question of what service to our country meant to them. Five of the 13 initial winners were from Nativity School. Ms. Hensler received the special award at a dinner, sponsored by the VFW’s Voice of Democracy Awards Program on February 27th at the West View VFW Post 2754. Nativity’s staff and faculty join in wishing Rebecca and her family warm congratulations. “What Service to Our Country Means to me”By Rebecca Hensler Anyone who serves our country in any way is a great American and should feel good about themselves. So many Americans serve their country everyday and don’t even realize it. It’s not hard to do. I believe the greatest way to serve our country is by helping each other. At my school, we collected money for the Red Cross. The donation was made in memory of an area resident whose son was killed in Iraq while working as a civilian. By doing this, we honored a man who died trying to better the lives of others; he truly served our country. The donated money was used to help the people in our area who lost so much during the recent flooding from Hurricane Ivan. Many people helped with the clean up and donated food, water and clothes. There were so many stories of people helping each other during this disaster, and in this way, they have served our country without really knowing it. As we are all aware, our country is in a war, and thousands of American troops are fighting to protect us and are away from their homes and families. The service they provide protecting our country risks their lives on a daily basis. By supporting our troops, we are serving our country too. I would like to send cards and letters to these soldiers, telling them they are in our thoughts and prayers, and thanking them for their bravery and service to protect freedom. The freedom we enjoy in this country today, is due to those who have served our country. Many of these are senior citizens living alone in nursing homes, lonely and neglected. We should honor and respect our elderly for all they sacrificed for us. My Girl Scot troop will make small, handcrafted gifts and visit a nursing home in our community. We will spend the afternoon talking, singing and offering snacks to the residents. The sparkle in their eyes, and the smiles on their faces will show that even the smallest acts make a difference in their life, even if just for that day. As you can see, there are many ways to serve our country. Everybody can have an opportunity to serve in some way. We can’t let these opportunities pass us by. |
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