Local art students will soon see their hard work pay off and help a military veteran in need. Students of Peggy Aldredge, a teacher at Corner Art Gallery in downtown Newnan, created Christmas cards during the holiday season and sold them to raise funds to help a wounded warrior.
“My son is active duty, and all my sons-in-law are in the military, and sometimes I feel like our service members get overlooked,” said Aldredge. “I just want our kids to appreciate our military and to give back. I asked them if they wanted to do something to help the troops, and they all were very enthusiastic about it.”
Aldredge said her students, ages 5 to 11 years old, worked hard on several different card designs before choosing one card each.
“They came to class on Fridays and worked on several Christmas cards; then we chose each one’s best card, which we took to Print Source in Newnan where they were printed so we could sell them,” said Aldredge.
She explained that all the proceeds from the card sales will be given to an anonymous, local veteran in need.
“Sometimes veterans come home from war, and we see that they are missing limbs or have other physical scars, but we often don’t notice the ones who are suffering from mental scars,” said Aldredge. “I’m very passionate about helping veterans suffering from PTSD, so we wanted to choose a local veteran and provide that person with this donation.”
She contacted members of the local VFW post to find a candidate to receive the donation.
“I went to the local VFW and asked about veterans we could give to, and they were very helpful,” said Aldredge.
Aldredge stressed that she wants children to learn the importance of helping those in need, especially veterans who have fought for our country’s freedom.
“I wanted to make it a big deal for the kids to know that they can give back and to see how important our soldiers are,” said Aldredge. “We have to teach kids not to be selfish but to think about others.”
All proceeds raised from the card sales will be presented to Hank Berkowitz from local VFW during a ceremony at the Corner Arts Gallery on Friday at 4 p.m.
“The kids were happy that they were able to do something to help the troops, and I think the lesson of giving back will be better learned after they see the check being given to the representative who will then see that it is given to the selected soldier,” said Aldredge. “This will be the first time we’ve done such a project, and we hope to continue to do it every year at Christmas, and possibly for other occasions.”
