PHOENIX—Rep. Greg Stanton today delivered handmade valentine cards to local veterans created by elementary school students in Arizona’s 9th District.  Through Stanton’s “Valentine’s for Vets” initiative, students from more than a dozen schools created more than 1,000 cards to say thank you to our men and women who served.

“This is a sweet, simple gesture to say thank you to our veterans and Happy Valentine’s Day,” said Stanton. “In schools across our district, teachers and students discussed the bravery and sacrifice of our military veterans, and they created these thoughtful cards to show their appreciation. I’m blown away by the outpouring of support we got from our local students—they helped make a lot of veterans’ Valentine’s Day brighter.”

Stanton visited the Phoenix VA Hospital, the Arizona State Veteran Home and Devonshire Senior Center to meet with veterans and their family members and present the students’ valentines.

Stanton’s team has been working for the last few weeks with administrators and teachers from Mesa Public Schools, Tempe Elementary School District, Madison Elementary School District, Chandler Unified School District, and Scottsdale Unified School District to collect the cards.

“Our students, schools and community are always happy to recognize our outstanding veterans and thank them for their service,” said Heidi Hurst, director of communications and engagement at Mesa Public Schools. “We are honored to assist in showing our gratitude and appreciate the creativity and kindness shown by our students and staff through this opportunity. We look forward to participating next year.”

More photos from Stanton’s Valentines for Vets initiative are available on Facebook.