A School Shop Class Create Urns For The Ashes Of Unclaimed Veterans

Dec 18, 2019 by apost team

High school students in a woodworking class decided to put their newfound skills to work and created urns that could be used as final resting places by homeless veterans. Every year, countless veterans around the country battle homelessness and mental health issues that leave them without family or anyone to handle their final wishes. Knowing this, a high school shop teacher in Albuquerque approached his students with an idea for a project that would prove beneficial to the students just as much as it was for those they were aiming to help.

Teacher Gino Perez of Valley High School is a veteran himself, and knows about the struggles and issues facing veterans of his generation.“It’s the last bit of respect that a human being can receive,” he said. Perez decided to approach his students with the idea of creating something useful and worthwhile as they learned the skills needed to complete the project, and his students all got on board with the class project as soon as they learned about it, as detailed here in KRQE News.

Every year, homeless veterans are left without anyone to make their final arrangements or provide the necessary final resting place for them. There are several charities and foundations that provide these services to as many veterans as possible, but there are still many that go without more than a cardboard box. In creating beautiful, handcrafted wood urns, the students of Valley High School are providing a much needed service while completing their high school course.

apost.com

Students created thirty urns for veterans that were donated to the Bernalillo County Forgotten Heroes Burial Program that distributes the urns to funeral homes and veteran's services. Each urn would be used by a veteran that has no other final resting place, giving them dignity in death.

Perez was impressed by the dedication and commitment shown by his students, noting that as soon as the students realized how their projects would be used, they put their best efforts into creating the best pieces possible.

Local veteran and military groups were so impressed by the effort of the students, that a military ceremony was performed at the school in order to honor the students that took part in shop class. Students indicated that they were surprised by the outcome of their actions, and that the impact of the gesture meant a lot to them.

Good deeds like this from students and teachers deserves to be recognized. The more people hear about the need for projects like this, the more charities that serve veterans can gain assistance. Send the word to family and friends.