VFW Post 8577 auxiliary recognizes student art winners, donates supplies to area teachers

By BRITTANY FHOLER

Cove Leader-Press

The VFW Post #8577 Auxiliary members recognized three students for placing at district and state in the patriotic art contest and the National Anthem singing contest and gave school supplies to three teachers on Monday.

Each year, the VFWs and Auxiliaries across the country hold a patriotic art contest, which was themed “Illustrating America” and is open to grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-8. There is also the “Get Excited for the Red, White and Blue! National Anthem singing contest, open to grades K-8 and 9-12, where contestants are judged on their performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner”.

Entries are judged at the local VFW Auxiliary level before moving onto the District level and then the State level, and if they qualify, eventually the National level.

Three Copperas Cove ISD students made it to District 14 judging and/or State competition.

For the “Illustrating America” art contest, Autumn Grant advanced to District, where she placed second for her painting. Aleyana Perdono also advanced to District and then to State, where she placed second for her painting.

CCHS junior Samantha Parker advanced to District and then State for her National Anthem entry and placed second.

Anastasio said that the Auxiliary wanted to recognize the winners of the art and singing contests and make sure that they are recognized throughout the year and not just one time when they first place at the local VFW level.

“This is something that Cove should be proud of,” Anastasio said about the students advancing to District and State for the art and singing contests.

The VFW Post #8577 Auxiliary also presented three teachers with bags filled with school supplies.

VFW Post #8577 Auxiliary President Lucy Anastasio said that the members had read an article in a local newspaper about how teachers are having a hard time getting school supplies, so they decided to reach out to the schools to find teachers in need.

The members put the names of Copperas Cove’s six elementary schools in a hat and then randomly selected three of the schools to help. Anastasio said that they then reached out to the three schools and asked for three teachers who are in need, such as new or first-year teachers. They put those names in a hat and selected one teacher from each of the three schools. The Auxiliary plans to give more supplies to three more teachers from the remaining three elementary schools during the second half of the year, Anastasio said.

“We’re trying to do different and better things, and we’re trying to let the public know that the Auxiliary is here, and we’re ready to help,” Anastasio said.

Anastasio added that the Auxiliary members have also offered to make bow for the high school cheerleaders, and they encourage any group or organization that is in need of something, that is not a financial donation, to reach out to the VFW Post #8577 Auxiliary.

“Write us a letter, tell us you need some assistance doing whatever,” Anastasio said. “Greeting people at the door- we don’t care what it is. We’ll come and help them.”

The first three teachers this semester are Jenna York of House Creek Elementary; Amanda Pierce of Clements/Parsons Elementary; and Rusty Smith of Fairview/Miss Jewell Elementary.

The bags were filled with all of the classroom supplies from the school supply lists, such as disinfecting wipes, tissues, markers, crayons, pencils, paper, paper, notebooks, colored pencils, and more.

Anastasio said that teachers do so much with children, so helping them out this way is an honor.

“It really was an honor to recognize teachers, because teachers are the forgotten ones,” she said. “People recognize the school, and they recognize the principal, but teachers are the ones that need to be recognized to us, and that’s why we did it because it was just something that always gets overstepped. Teachers often get pushed down and told ‘Oh, you’re just a teacher.’ But you’re not just a teacher. You’re a teacher, so we were really thrilled to be able to do this for them, and we’re looking forward to doing it for another three for the next part of the year.”