Grundy County Vocational Center donates $2,500 to veteran’s assistance commission

GRUNDY COUNTY – Branden Matthews, a junior at Morris Community High School, knows that one benefit of living in a small community is the ability to help one another.

Matthews is one of the students who donated and collected monetary donations during Grundy County Vocational Center’s Coins for Kindness campaign that ran from Dec. 1 to Dec. 15.

“We are a smaller community so we all have a sense of being together and helping one another,” he said.

Every year, GAVC picks a local organization or project to focus on during December. Last year it choose “warmth” and donated coats to local children. This year, it choose to donate to the Grundy County Veterans Assistance Commission.

“We have chosen a bunch of different programs in the past, but this year we had all talked about the Veterans Commission. It was one that stuck out to us – we have donated to We Care (of Grundy County) and we have done the nursing homes and stuff. The Veteran’s Assistance Commission is one we wanted to give back to,” said Jen Shell, an instructor at GAVC.

GAVC raised $2,500 for local veterans during its campaign. The top five teachers with the most donations were Rob Scwiesow, automotive; Tom Nelson, welding; Joe Terrel, computer sciences; Bob Humbert, building trades; and Jeff Janley of Coal City criminal justice.

Ken Buck, veterans service officer of Grundy County Veterans Assistance Commission, said the donation would go towards programs including financial assistance such as shelter, food, and other unmet needs such as care repair and utility assistance.

“It’s wonderful. The fact that a generation thinks about veterans and the veterans in our community it’s very overwhelming,” Buck said. “I’m also happy that the youth of this community do this program and give back to the community.