BELTON, Texas — The holidays are here and that means it’s the season of giving. That is exactly what students at New Tech High School in Belton are doing.
New Tech High School at Waskow in Belton is named after Captain Henry T. Waskow who died while serving in World War II. On Wednesday the students honored him by serving the community.
"We are named after Henry T. Waskow, who was all about service. So, we wanted to implement that here on campus,” said Sarah Jiles, instructional facilitator for New Tech High School.
It was their 7th annual Purple Heart Day and students did a variety of things from cleaning up local parks to writing letters to veterans and breast cancer survivors.
"That’s something that’s simple and that we can do that still has a huge impact but something that we all can do. It's also something that is geared toward what Key Club is and that is community outreach,” said junior Celeste Jones.
Key Club is writing letters thanking veterans for their service but for some, it’s the letters to breast cancer survivors that they feel are needed most.
"For breast cancer survivors, we just what to share the message that we are with you, we stand with you, we see you, we’re supporting you and thinking of you and hoping for your recovery,” said junior Caitlyn Stearns.
While Key Club members stayed busy writing letters, other students took a trip to Belton’s Early Childhood School to read to the kiddos.
"I wanted to read because I felt that with involvement in theater, that I would be able to project and get their attention and help as much as I could,” said junior Ezekiel Payne.
No matter what the students chose to do it was all about serving their community, and campus leaders couldn't be more proud of them.
"To see them go out and come up with the things to do is just amazing. To see them go out and just pick up trash and do the little things that most people don’t think twice about during the day,” said Jiles.
New Tech students are required to complete 10 hours of community service a year to honor Captain Waskow, but on Purple Heart Day they got to honor the whole community in his name.
