Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Blue Star Mothers NY7 (BSM NY7) is rallying the community to support their “Valentines for Our Troops” initiative. The group has partnered up with local classrooms, as well as SERVPRO of The Southtowns + SERVPRO of West Seneca/Lancaster, to ensure that overseas military service members receive care packages, which will include handcrafted Valentines from WNY school children. The majority of the students participating are from the West Seneca Central School District.
Since 2010, BSM NY7 has brought mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers, foster mothers, and female legal guardians who have children serving in the military, together to make a difference in the lives of the active duty service members.
“I would like to thank everyone in the community for their support for the men and women serving in the U.S. Military,” said Lisa Blair, president of Blue Star Mothers NY7. “The care packages are greatly appreciated by the troops when they are so far from home, and the Valentine’s Day cards and treats will bring a lot of smiles.”
“We are excited and thankful to partner with SERVPRO and Blue Star Mothers,” said Dr. Jonathan Cervoni, Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Operations at West Seneca Central School District. “It’s a great opportunity to recognize and support our veterans and service members.”
Community members who would like to contribute towards the effort may do so by dropping off donations during regular business hours at SERVPRO of The Southtowns at 97 Evans Street, Hamburg, NY 14057 (deadline is February 2).
A list of suggested donations is as follows:
- Individual packages of snack cookies/crackers
- Fruit cups with pop tops
- Cans of chips
- Pop Tarts
- Beef jerky
- Drink packets that can be added to water
“We have immense pride in our military, our veterans and our country,” said Lyn Braun, owner of SERVPRO of The Southtowns and SERVPRO of West Seneca/Lancaster. “We’re enthusiastic about any chance that we get to support them.”