St. Agnes students collect supplies for veterans in need

Members of St. Agnes Cathedral School’s service club loaded bags of toiletries, clothing and other supplies into the back of a pick-up truck on the afternoon of Nov. 9 to be sent to veterans in need.

Army veteran Frank Colon, commander of American Legion Post 303, visited the students last month to speak about veterans, especially those who are vulnerable. Hearing about veterans in need, the students held a drive, from mid-October to Nov. 2, to collect shampoo, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, shirts, hats, gloves, socks and other items.

“These people gave so much of their lives to protect us and for our freedom,” said eighth-grader Jake Truncale, one of about 70 students in St. Agnes’s service club. “It’s the least we can do just to give back a little bit.”

It was the first time St. Agnes has held a drive leading up to Veterans Day, said Principal Cecilia St. John. Though they had written letters to veterans in the past, students and staff wanted to do more. “Why not give them the items that they need?” she said. “The kids put it together, the parents helped and it was great.”

The students spent more than an hour sorting the supplies into bags on Nov. 6, said eighth-grade student Jocelyn Brice, who noted with a smile that they needed two bags just for the bars of soap. “It’s great to help your community and those who have served our country,” she said. “They did so much for us, the least we can do is help them with the few necessities they need.”

Three days after sorting, students filed out of the building with filled black plastic bags and loaded them into a truck. The items will go to patients at the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Colon said, as well as to veterans in need at the annual Stand Down event on Nov. 20 at the Freeport Armory, which each year is sponsored by the Nassau County American Legion and the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency.

“It’s such a gratification to see young men and women in school to come out and support veterans and all our programs,” Colon said. “It’s important that they learn about the history of our country and what veterans are all about.”

After students loaded the bags, Colon visited kindergartners in Karin Hintze’s class, who sang patriotic songs and recited a poem for him. They also gifted him with a handwritten note, signed in blue and red markers by all members of the class, which read, “Dear veteran, thank you for protecting us and being so brave. You are a HERO!”