Reynoldsburg VFW helps kids play Santa

Reynoldsburg VFW helps kids play Santa for troops

Jordan Thomas, front, a fifth-grade student at Chapelfield Elementary School in Gahanna, is joined by his teacher, Karen Hammond, and Reynoldsburg Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9473 members Mark Pheister, Robert Ward and Gary Pfaff, who presented the student with a check for $500 for care packages for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hammond’s class raised $450 on their own, and Jordan contacted Ward to obtain the additional money. The students put together 65 packages containing paperback novels, writing paper, lip balm, candy and wooden flags, along with letters they had written to the troops. The students have sent packages to troops for the past three years as part of their community service project, and Hammond said they will be sending more in the spring.