Community

U.S. Army veteran Kyle Todd speaks to students during at Veterans Day programs hosted last week by Welsh High and Welsh-Roanoke Junior High schools.

Youth at West End Instructional Center packed and delivered 127 gift bags for veterans at the Southwest Louisiana Veterans Home on Veterans Day last week. They filled the bags with homemade candy covered pretzels, as well as rice crispy treats and soft peppermints. The students also collaborated to create a fingerprint tree titled,“Forever in Our Hearts.”WEIC students have been studying character traits and what it means to have empathy. They were able to gift each veteran with a hand-painted rock decorated with character traits and artwork to thank the veterans for their service and sacrifice. Gratitude and appreciation is extended to WEIC faculty for donating funds to sponsor a bingo game for local veterans.The staff noted the veterans seemed excited to get all these special gifts.

Grand Knight Frank Angelle (left) of Knights of Columbus Council 2012 from Our Lady Help of Christians Parish in Jennings recently presented a $500 donation to Mother Marie Protectrice de la Foi (Marcantel) of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara’. Mother Protectrice leads a group of Sisters from her Order in performing important work in Tanzania Africa, helping the people survive in some very primitive and harsh conditions. The Sisters have initiated and supported programs for medical support, education, growth of the Christian faith, clean water, religious vocations and many more. Anyone wishing to make a donation to the Tanzania Mission can send a tax-deductible check to SSVM Missions, 533 West Tioga St., Philadelphia, PA, 19140. Please write in “Tanzania Mission” on the memo line of the check.

Donald Kratzer (left) from Knights of Columbus (KC) Council 2012 in Jennings recently donated, on behalf of the Council, $1,323.18 to the Jeff Davis Special Olympics for use in Special Olympics activities in the parish.

Winter occasions and celebrations equate to increased travel opportunities for many families to see destinations around the globe. Whether you’re planning a trip far from home or taking advantage of nearby attractions during a staycation, you can get more out of your adventures when you plan ahead.

There are times when Life moves along at a pretty predictable pace — so much so that you get rocked into some sort of complacency about the goodness which surrounds you.