Wauconda FBLA team sends Kindness Cards to veterans
Wauconda High School students Estefany Garcia, Karly Pikel and Kelly Poyo created UnMASK Suicide, and have been maximizing awareness and spreading kindness to prevent suicide in their community for almost two years.
This year, they are a Partnership with Business team in the Future Business Leaders of America organization. The UnMASK Suicide team is partnering with SALUTE Inc. to distribute Kindness Cards to veterans in programs that SALUTE is involved with.
SALUTE provides financial aid to veterans and their families across the country to save them from homelessness and grant them the means to obtain mental health services. SALUTE and UnMASK Suicide are aligned in the goal to bring hope to veterans, as an average of 20 veterans die by suicide every day, according to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
The cards they deliver have simple messages: "You matter, always. The world is better with you in it! We wish you all the best in your current journey."
These cards are meant to empower veterans and show them they are loved and valued. So far, they have written more than 200 messages that have been sent to the veterans program at Emory Healthcare Center in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Road Home Program at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
Six hundred more will be sent to Jesse Brown VA Center in Chicago and Boston General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, to instill a message of hope through these difficult times due to the spread of COVID-19.
On Feb. 14, the three team members and their FBLA adviser, Wendy Mills, took a trip to the Road Home Program at Rush Medical Center in Chicago. They brought 120 Kindness Cards that they wrote with 20 other FBLA members.
The girls had the chance to meet with the outreach coordinators to find out more about how the Road Home Program serves veterans and their families, and to tour the facilities where veterans receive treatment.
William Beiersdorf, executive director of the Road Home Program at Rush, said that "the messages in these Kindness Cards are very simple, but powerful, giving our veterans a sense of hope and appreciation that someone is thinking about them and thankful for their service and sacrifice to our country. It truly makes a difference and helps support our mission here at the Road Home Program."
This testimony proves that the team's Kindness Cards are a unique addition to the veterans programs to which they are sending them, and they have the ability to change the head space of the people who receive them.
A veteran involved with the Road Home Program at Rush told the UnMASK Suicide team, "Thank you so much for all of your efforts. I know personally how great of an impact a small act of kindness like this can have on someone in this situation."
The team later learned that the veteran had served in the Navy and just got out last year. This meaningful reaction is evidence that the veterans themselves are truly moved by Kindness Cards.
On Feb. 29, team members attended the SALUTE Annual Fundraiser. Marybeth Beiersdorf, co-founder of SALUTE Inc., invited them to attend and speak about the impact of their project and partnership with SALUTE.
The team also took the opportunity to give a Kindness Card to everyone in attendance, which was almost 500 people. After the three team members spoke, various SALUTE donors and veterans approached them and thanked them for what they are doing for their community and veterans around the country.
Bryan Anderson, a motivational speaker and an Iraq War veteran and triple amputee, even took the time to thank the team. It was a moving experience for the team, and it confirmed for them that their suicide prevention efforts are truly making an impact on the nationwide community of veterans.
Follow the UnMASK Suicide team's journey on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook at @unmasksuicide. Learn more about the services that SALUTE Inc. provides for veterans and their families at www.saluteinc.org.
• To submit Your news, go to dailyherald.com/share.