Valentines for veterans at Lake County events Saturday

Veterans will celebrate Valentine's Day early with cards from the community that will be handed out during a pair of events Saturday in Lake County.

Some 1,267 valentines - including many made by schoolchildren - have been collected by staff members at U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider's 10th District office in Lincolnshire. Most will be distributed to vets at the Lake County Honor Flight Valentines for Veterans Pancake Breakfast at Forrestal Elementary School at Great Lakes Naval Base and during a bingo event at Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago.

Schneider is scheduled to attend both events.

Robert Perez, staff assistant at Schneider's office, said some of the cards contain longer notes from district residents while others, such as those from the schoolchildren, are more brief. Regardless, the message is the same: "Thank you for your service."

Any cards not distributed at Saturday's events will be given to vets at local VFW and American Legion Halls as Valentine's Day approaches next week.

The 1,267 valentines exceeds the number collected last year, which was just fewer than 1,000. This is Schneider's fourth year hosting the program.

"It's always surprising how many we ultimately get," Perez said. "This is the most we've ever gotten."