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Wash High shows its patriotism

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Life Skills students show off their pillows and certificates after a recent presentation to the National Remember Our Troops Campaign at Washington High School. Adults who are pictured are, from left, state Rep. Brandon Neuman, D-North Strabane; Lisa Siestma, regional manager of NROTC; teacher’s aide Lois Gnagey; and Garrett Whiteside, national director of NROTC.

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Deitrick Stogner poses with the pillow he made and the certificate he received from Lisa Siestma, regional manager of the National Remember Our Troops Campaign.

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Kailey Frendan awaits her turn to present the four pillows she made for the National Remember Our Troops Campaign.

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A sample of the pillows made by Life Skills students at Washington High School for the National Remember Our Troops campaign.

Life Skills students at Washington High School got a taste of responsibility this year, and, in the end, it paid off nicely for them and the National Remember Our Troops Campaign.

For the first time, the school had a café in the Media Center, where Life Skills students in seventh through 12th grade learned how to prepare light food, wait on customers, operate a cash register and make change.

“It is wonderful for the kids what they are developing,” said Teresa Booker, café teacher. “It really brings tears to your eyes to see what they can do. It’s truly amazing to watch them. Their self-esteem has increased, and the general population learned to get to know them as a person.”

As part of the program, lunches were offered to teachers about once a week, with profits used to purchase supplies for foxhole pillows. Students raised enough money to make 24 pillows for military veterans, which they recently presented to Garret Whiteside, national director of National Remember Our Troops Campaign, and Lisa Siestma, a regional manager of NROTC.

The pillow project was coordinated by Lois Gnagey, a teacher’s aide, who, said Michelle Engle, supervisor of the Practical Assessment Exploratory Systems (PAES) class, “came up with the idea, and we said ‘yes.’ She took the lead.”

Each student who wanted to participate worked on the pillows in their PAES class. In addition to a logo provided by NROTC, which Gnagey opted to have printed instead of ironed on, students also signed their name on the bottom of the pillows they crafted. Whiteside said that makes troops treasure them even more, noting how happy a Navy veteran was when he received a pillow from his home state.

Students who participated were April Carroll, Alyssa Flannigan, Kailey Frendan, Brianne Holmes, Britney Jones, Dawson Marquis, Ruthie McKinley, Maurika Moore, Torri Murphy, Tyler Nash, Dariuss Phillips, Janiah Ratley, Deitrick Stogner, Xavier Turner, Giovanni Waters and Sami Waters.

In addition, some of the students made pink pillows, drawing much praise from Whiteside.

“At the Philadelphia VA Hospital, we have 11 female vets who are amputees. Did anybody ever think to remember the female amputees?” Whiteside said. “When I take these back, they will be so happy. That’s cool, kids.”

Whiteside, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, explained to the students what National Remember Our Troops Campaign is all about, and showed them a brief video saluting the troops who have sacrificed their lives for the students’ freedom. He also made it a point to highlight the veterans’ hotline.

“I am the one who has the privilege of answering that line the majority of the time,” he said. “We work hard to ensure that no veteran is left behind.”

He noted that many veterans report symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or depression, and that suicide rates among active-duty troops and returning veterans continue to climb, with an average of 18 per day. He also said there are thousands of female veterans who are homeless, with females being five times more likely than a male veterans to live on the streets.

“I was a really lucky Marine,” said Whiteside, who resides in Cross Junction, Va.

He had a great deal of support from his family, and his mother was a nurse who prevented Whiteside from having his legs amputated. Twenty-three surgeries later, he still has his legs – along with metal in his head, back and neck. “I’m a lot fun in the airport,” he chuckled.

Students each received a certificate of appreciation and a U.S. Army water bottle from the National Remember Our Troops Campaign.

State Rep. Brandon Neuman, D-North Strabane, also praised the students for their efforts.

“This is phenomenal story coming out of the Washington School District,” he said. “Thank you for making these pillows for our heroes. They will really appreciate it.”

National Remember Our Troops is licensed to solicit donations in 11 states, and is in the process of becoming registered in Pennsylvania. Washington School District’s unsolicited participation in NROTC will help the organization accomplish that.

“We are determined,” Whiteside said.

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