Spartans help veterans through healing power of guitars

Representatives from Guitars for Vets will receive 15 guitar kits from Luxemburg-Casco Intermediate School students during a full-school assembly from 8:10-8:40 a.m. on Wednesday, January 25. Approximately 550 students in Grades 3-6 are expected to be on hand.

Guitars for Vets (www.guitars4vets.org/) helps war veterans afflicted with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) through the healing power of acoustic guitars. Veterans are provided with guitars and opportunities to learn how to play them. The organization has 60 chapters in more than 30 U.S. states, including five in Wisconsin and one based in Green Bay.

Students from L-C Intermediate School raised more than $1,500 in a five-day bucket battle during the initial week of November 2016. School principal Jolene Hussong subsequently secured an additional $850 in donations from the local Coast Guard Auxiliary and Celebrate De Pere. With the generosity of Instrumental Music Company, the school was able to purchase twice as many guitar kits as originally planned.

“We are excited for students to hear and see how their efforts will positively impact our local war veterans,” says Mary Schley, a music teacher at the school who coordinated the campaign. “It’s been rewarding to see how students have gotten behind this wonderful initiative.”

If you missed the news segments about the donation to Guitars for Vets, you can view them at the links below:

• FOX 11

• NBC 26

• WFRV 5

• Door County Daily News