Local Students, Congressman Team Up to Deliver Valentines for Vets

In an effort to support our nation’s veterans and thank them for their service, U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) today delivered almost 4,000 Valentine’s Day cards prepared by Rhode Island school children to veterans at the VA Medical Center in Providence and the Rhode Island Veterans Home in Bristol. 

“We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to our veterans who have served with honor and sacrificed so much to protect our country," Cicilline said in a release. "This is one small way to say thank you and I am pleased so many student volunteers showed their support for our veterans and participated in this year’s ‘Valentines for Veterans.’”

The 3,938 cards that Cicilline hand delivered were prepared by elementary school students from cities and towns throughout the First District in response to Cicilline’s invitation for classrooms to participate in his “Valentines for Veterans” program.  This initiative connects First District elementary school students with Rhode Island veterans to honor their service and celebrate Valentine’s Day.  This is the third year Cicilline has organized the “Valentines for Veterans” program.

Since its beginning in 1996, the "Valentines for Veterans" project has brought millions of Valentine's Day cards to our nation's veterans. The project coincides with National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Week, which was launched by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to celebrate our veterans during the week of February 14. 

Schools that participated in the 2014 “Valentines for Veterans” include: Colt Elementary School Primrose Hill School in Barrington; Colt Andrews Elementary in Bristol; Veterans Memorial Elementary in Central Falls; B.F. Norton School in Cumberland; Kent Heights Elementary School, Silver Spring Elementary, and Emma G. Whiteknact Elementary in East Providence; Northern Lincoln Elementary, Central Elementary, and Saylesville Elementary in Lincoln; McGuire Elementary, Stephen Olney Elementary, Greystone Elementary School, Marieville Elementary, Centredale Elementary, Whelan Elementary in North Providence; M. Virginia Cunningham Elementary, Curvin McCabe Elementary, and Anges Little in Pawtucket; Melville Elementary School in Portsmouth; Charles N. Fortes Elementary School, Robert L. Bailey, IV Elementary School, Alan Shawn Feinstein Elementary School, and Vartan Gregorian Elementary School in Providence; Globe Park Elementary and Bernon Heights Elementary in Woonsocket.

Since first entering Congress in 2011, Cicilline has established a strong record of standing up on behalf of Rhode Island veterans, most recently cosponsoring the GI-Bill Tuition Fairness Act to expand educational opportunities for veterans.