8th grader gives care packages to veterans

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - One hundred Girl Scout cookies, letters and thank you cards were given to residents at a local veteran's home, created by an eighth grader and her friends.

"I decided to collect 100 thank you cards from different people because I want people to be aware of the importance of what the veterans have done for this country," Hope Weng said.

Hope Weng is a student at Tempe Preparatory School and she says she got her inspiration from blue-star moms.

"We create care packages that include a box of Girl Scout cookies and a thank you card and they send it over to the soldiers, who are currently fighting," she said.

Hope wanted to do something locally, so her and her two friends dressed up on Halloween as Minions, and delivered 100 care packages to veterans.

"They all seemed so happy to see us and they were all smiling," said Stella Lovelady, a friend of Hope's. "They might not get that many visitors or get young people visiting them, so I think that made them happy."

The visitation not only brought light to veterans, but to these eighth graders too.

"I liked listening to older stories about how their experience was and comparing it to some of the history we learned," Hope said. "It was a little bit different because they were interacting and some of their stories they portrayed it, as if it changed their life forever."

Hope says the cards were written by people she gathered in a library and by her sister's kindergarten class.

"Delivery to the veterans, I was very happy because I got to see the veterans' smile and it was a nice experience," she said.