Members of the group Hold High the Torch got busy writing postcards to veterans last week.
“We had to do it early in order for them to be mailed in time for Remembrance Day,” said Joon Sohn, a member of the École Salish Secondary student group.
Hold High the Torch members Joanne Park, Joon Sohn, Kiera McAllister, Thanuri Egodawatta, Tasja Ador, and Aryan Verma led a workshop called “Postcards for Veterans” in both a history class and an English class Oct. 28 and 29.
“École Salish students wrote 50 postcards for eight Surrey veterans of WW2 and the Korean War, three of whom are Cloverdale residents,” said Sohn.
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He added none are random as each one has some kind of connection with Hold High the Torch. He said the postcards will be mailed to the vets in time for Nov. 11 and each will contain a gift card.
“In a normal year, Hold High the Torch would host several veterans at École Salish to speak to many, many classes,” said Joanne Park, one of the main organizers of this project. “We would also run several public and youth engagement campaigns with École Salish and Lord Tweedsmuir.”
Sohn added that with COVID, everything has changed. “Not only are visitors not allowed in schools, students cannot mix with other cohorts. There are friends that I have never even seen this year.”
Park noted most veterans are vulnerable because of their age and COVID-19. She hopes the postcards convey some of the gratitude students have that cannot be shown this year because of the public health restrictions. She said young people still remember and are thankful for the vets’ service and the personal sacrifices they made for the greater good of the country and the world.
“This is our way of saying, ‘You are not alone. We may be far apart, but our hearts will always remain together.’”
Park added, “As a Korean-Canadian, I am indebted to our veterans’ sacrifice. It is why I choose to remember our fallen, honour our veterans, and support our troops who serve today.”
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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