Mission Viejo Students at Stratford School/Carden Academy Host Charity Event

Students at Stratford School/Carden Academy in Mission Viejo recently held a charity event to support the A Million Thanks program. The program supports active, reserve and veteran military members by sending millions of letters of thanks and encouragement directly to members of the armed services.

Stratford/Carden students spent a recent afternoon writing more than 165 letters and drawing pictures for members of the military. Supervising teacher, Kia Smallcomb, said the process provides a great opportunity for students to be an active part of recognizing those in the community who have chosen to serve.

Each trimester of the school year, middle school students submit platforms to run for Stratford/Carden’s student body officer program. After nomination, the students meet with Smallcomb to discuss the difference between philanthropy and service and choose an activity to support.

Ultimately, the students chose the project that best illustrated their goal of service. “Letters of gratitude to those who serve us so faithfully” became the official theme for the trimester, according to Smallcomb.

“A big part of our curriculum is the infusion of a strong Character Counts program,” said Smallcomb. “These pillars of the program focus on respect, caring and citizenship. Writing letters of thanks is a great lesson for the students to express gratitude and appreciation to military members who show these traits through their service to our country.”

A Million Thanks is a nonprofit organization that began with the goal of sending one million cards and letters of appreciation to U.S. military serving around the world. In the 13 years since, A Million Thanks has distributed more than seven million letters. The organization has now expanded to granting wishes to military members injured in combat and funding higher education scholarships to children of fallen service members.