PLACCE Students Create Charms for Veterans

PLACCE Students Create Charms for Veterans
Posted on 12/05/2019

Six Waukegan High School Program PLACCE  students in Ms. Gina Villaruz’s class got into the spirit of the season a little early this year, when the class assembled 150 holiday locket charms to be sent to veterans during the holiday season.


This marks the fifth year that students in Ms. Villaruz’s classes will take part in holiday tradition, which has been established with the assistance of former WHS custodian, Ms. Liz Lawrence. Students in the program created the holiday charms during their independent skills class time, which is generally used to hone individual life and employment skills.


Of the 150 necklaces created by hand, approximately 50 will be distributed to Waukegan-area veterans, and the rest will be sent to the Governor's office in Springfield, where they will be distributed to wounded veterans recovering in hospitals throughout Illinois.


“Every year we do this as a way to show our veterans we are thinking about them, and to help our students understand and appreciate the sacrifices they’ve made in protecting our country and freedoms,” said Ms. Villaruz. “It was really great to see our students working so hard to try to give back and spread happiness.”


WHS’s Program PLACCE (Partnership, Literacy, Advocacy, Collaboration, and Community Enrichment) is five-year transition program for 18 to 22-year-old students with physical and/or developmental disabilities, and is designed to enhance student’s life skills and employability.


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