•February 20, 2019•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

Like many other congressmen Representative John Shimkus participates in the annual program of Valentines for Heroes. Each February in Illinois Boy and Girl Scouts, 4-H groups, church youth groups and elementary school children create over 10,000 valentines for military veterans.
OVES set a goal of 500 valentines, but with two days to go they were below their goal.
“I just got goosebumps when I saw these children put their hearts into creating 805 valentines to exceed their goal,” school counselor Paula Coffer said. “The big, red paper thermometer to measure their progress blew through the top, and the students were so excited. The challenge was a good experience for them.”
To reward the students, Mike Hall, Regional Director for Rep. John Shimkus, made a trip to the school to collect the big, red box containing the OVES collection of colorful Valentines.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.