15 Great Ways for Students to Support Our Military

On Veteran's Day, we honor the brave men and women who served our country and risked their lives to guarantee our freedoms.

In addition to thousands of active military and their families living in every corner of the country, there are more than 23 million vets in need of assistance, support, and simple friendship.

High school students can acknowledge the sacrifices made by our military by getting involved. You can volunteer for an organization serving veterans and/or military families, or you can initiate a project within your immediate community.

Your contribution can be as simple as taking time to meet regularly with an elderly veteran or as complex as initiating a holiday gift drive for families living on your local military base.

This Veterans Day, take a moment to reflect on the meaning of service.

Here are 15 ways you can help:

1. Visit a wounded veteran at the hospital.


2. Complete a Create The Good project where you can help military families with chores, handy work around the house or with preparing a meal.


3. Organize a fundraising drive to purchase PX/BX gift certificates or calling cards for troops.


4. Deliver a meal or care packages to veterans.


5. Agree to foster a pet for military personnel deployed abroad or organize a drive to find families willing to foster pets.


6. Start a club at your high school to adopt a platoon.


7. Help a veteran tell their story through a project such as the Veteran's History Project. You can download a VHP field kit from the Library of Congress website.


8. Join with friends to send cards and letters to the troops through A Million Thanks.org or Operation Military Support.


9. Volunteer with an organization, such as Canine Companions for Independence, to provide therapy dogs to veterans.


10. Organize a moms day away from kids event where you can offer babysitting services to military moms who need to run errands and spend time away from the kids.


11. Host a party or put on a concert at a local VA Hospital.


12. Arrange to send care packages through the USO Cares Program, the Any Soldier Program, Treats for Troops, or Operation Gratitude.


13. Set up a drop-off site or organize a “drive” for cell phones for soldiers.


14. Get your scout troop to pledge hours of community service to Operation Honor Cards, a project designed to support military families, service members and veterans.


15. Say thank you.