Memorial Day: Show Your Support for Our Troops and Veterans

There are many ways to support the heroic efforts of military soldiers abroad and at home. For some, paying tribute comes in the form of writing letters, donating supplies to soldiers and military families and raising funds for wounded vets who need medical assistance. For others, honoring vets is about making a statement.

Help your students support the troops this Memorial Day with this project-based learning activity. Here’s how:

Opening Activity

Watch “Teen Veterans Vacations”

(original air date: 11/11/15)

Check for Understanding

• What was Victoria Cannella’s idea for giving back to veterans and their families? What inspired her to give back in this way?
• What are some other ways you might show support for veterans and military families this Memorial Day?

Student Activity

With a partner, read through the list below of suggested ways to support our troops this Memorial Day. Visit the websites (Note: External Links) to learn more about each idea. Together, select one idea that you’d consider participating in this Memorial Day. Write a paragraph explaining your choice and why you think it’s a good idea.

• Here’s a great way to help the families of service members and wounded soldiers. Through Operation HomeFront, you can send the troops a care package  loaded with essential goodies (visit the website for suggestions), volunteer at a local center, or raise funds right in your community that will support the work that Operation HomeFront does.

• Support the troops’ humanitarian efforts with Operation Crayon. AdoptaPlatoon and Army soldiers serving in Bosnia founded the project in 1999. Military units adopt needy schools or orphanages in places such as Bosnia, Iraq, Kuwait and Kosovo and provide them with much needed supplies. You can lend a helping hand by sending winter clothing, toothpaste, toothbrushes and school supplies. So, check out the website to see just how much your future care package will be appreciated.

• Help those serving overseas phone their loved ones back home by donating to Cell Phones for Soldiers, an organization that gives troops prepaid calling cards. You can donate cash or old cell phones and/or phone batteries that are then recycled and sold for money to buy.

• Donors buy gift certificates that can be redeemed by troops’ families at various stores. Donate at Commisscries. com.

• The Fisher House organization provides inexpensive lodging  for families of injured service members. To help, you can volunteer at your local Fisher House.

• You can make a difference at home by volunteering your time and compassion with a Veterans Administration hospital. It is a great way to tell a veteran, “Thank you for your service.” For more information, visit the Department of Veterans Affairs.

• One detail that many troops often overlook is what to do with their pets while they are away. This is where you come in. You can take their pets into your home through an organization called the Dogs on Deployment.  Military personnel are matched with caring foster homes that will look after their pets until their safe return.

• Teen Shauna Fleming started a campaign to collect a million “Thank you” letters to send to forces around the globe. She and a team of volunteers collect and sort the letters, CDs and DVDs to send to the troops. To learn how you can help, visit A Million Thanks.

Closing Activity

Take a class poll to determine which plan most students would like to participate in. Launch a class or school-wide initiative to enact the plan and generate support for our troops this Memorial Day.