Students create heartfelt Christmas cards for Barrie veterans

Students from Heritage Christian Academy in Barrie have spent the past several weeks making and designing special Christmas cards for veterans at the Barrie Legion.

“It’s so important for the young people to not just be in the classroom sitting at a desk staring at a paper all the time but for them to be actually involved with real people and see real life implications,” said Youth Pastor Jesse Archer at Heritage Baptist Church.

Some of the veterans stopped by to thank the students for the kind gesture Tuesday morning.

“It’s just a joy to be able to see how much you’re appreciated - what we’ve done,” Fern Taillefer with the Barrie Legion told the students.

“A feeling of joy in my heart to know that you thought of us and are thankful for what our sacrifices have been,” Veteran Bill Sergeant added while at the school.

Cole Delong is a Grade 4 student who worked on one of the cards. “If it weren’t for them this country might not be as free,” he said.

The students recited a couple of songs for the special visitors.

The idea to create the holiday cards came from the school’s secretary.

“I think this is a great way to show thankfulness, to show remembrance and to show kindness to them for their service,” said Aislinn Sunicl at Heritage Christian Academy.

In all, more than 100 cards were made and distributed to the legion. Many are on display at the local branch for the veterans to see.

“Yes, they are special notes and they are individual notes written by the kids. I think the teacher must have done a really good job to keep current the remembrance that we have today,” Ron Sclater told CTV News.

The Christmas cards were presented to the legion and it’s members at a special dinner last week. They will remain on display at the legion for the rest of the week.