Press Release - April 14, 2003

Children of St. Valentine Parish Offer Hope to the Troops

This Lent under the direction of second grade teacher Ms. Mary Pakutinskas, students at St. Valentine School have been working hard to give soldiers serving in Iraq a taste of home and hope. Students have been collecting all sorts of treats, from candy bars to sunflower seeds, for the school’s service project, dubbed Operation Hope.

This coming Wednesday, the students will assemble individual goody bags, package them, and mail them via U.S. Mail to Major Matthew Hergenroeder of the U.S. Army, who has agreed to distribute them to the 75th Exploitation Task Force. Their job is to document weapons of mass destruction. In addition to goody bags for the soldiers, the students have gathered small toys for the soldiers to distribute to Iraqi children.

While Operation Hope began as a service project for the school, it has turned into a project for the whole parish family. Students in the parish’s CCD program also participated and donated many bundles already packaged.

Media Note: If you would like to photograph the students putting together the goody bags, please contact Mrs. Diane Dickson, principal of St. Valentine School at (412) 835-3780.

For more information Contact Saint Valentine School

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