Young people making a difference for our soldiers

A lot of the times all we hear is about problems with the youth today id you use Twitter and have a look at trending topics you would think that all young girls are obsessed with nothing but Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, well I hope this blog may help to change your perception of that.

 I'm going to share with you some stories of some youth doing amazing projects in efforts to make the lives of our currently serving soldiers & injured soldiers a little easier.  Also, I want to introduce you to two youths who are doing something amazing to honour the lives of our fallen soldiers and keep their memory alive.

Pennies For Patriotism - Autumn Haggard :

This started as a school project by a grade five student in Ontario who wanted to do something for injured soldiers returning from deployments around the world.  I did an interview with Autumn for our blog and when I asked her "Why Pennies" she said :

" I chose Pennies for Patriotism because its my way to give back to our Canadian Soldiers. Because of them I have my Freedom and Protection I don't have to live my life in fear!! I have FREEDOM.. These brave Men and Women Fight for me so I fight for them"


Myself and Kevin McHarg from Hero To Hero Team Canada got together and with the help from a friend designed Autumn her very first webpage for Pennies For Patriotism


You can read the full interview with Autumn I did back in February and visit her Facebook page 

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Michael & Elizabeth Pratt - A walk to Remember :  Langley Youth For The Fallen - A Walk To Remember was an initiative started by Michael & Elizabeth Pratt as a way for the youth of Langley, B.C to honour of fallen soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2001.  158 trees (one for each of our fallen soldiers) will be planted along with a Cenotaph showing each of the names.

 Information regarding sponsoring a tree (for $300) can be found on their Facebook page: Langley Youth for the Fallen or by emailing Michael or Elizabeth  


"We don't have any money for advertising or anything like that and so it is entirely by word of mouth. We have about 80 sponsorships so far and so are more than halfway there! We received a lot in the past two weeks leading up to emembrance Day and hope we can keep our momentum going. We had a planting ceremony on November 11th for 71 trees and it went really well." says Elizabeth Pratt  
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Cody Jackson - The One Boy USO : Cody Jackson is just eight-years-old, but he's been patriotic almost as long as he can remember.

It all began when, as a four-year-old he asked his parents a simple question, "Why is it so hard to get on a plane?" They felt it was important to tell Cody about September 11th and how that day changed travel for people around the world. They also told him about the wars American men and women were fighting as a result of those attacks.

Ever since then, Cody has has a new passion -- now known as the "One Boy USO"

Two or three times a month, he goes to Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport in Atlanta and thanks returning serviceman and women for their protection.

Cody (and his mom Kelly and dad Ken) would love to hear from you on his Facebook Page where they also collect donations to send care packages to deployed military.

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Lexxi Saal :

When Lexxi was twelve years old she wrote a song called "Thank You" dedicated to our men and women in uniform which is acapella and a very powerful song.  I have featured Lexxi's song in our most recent video for "The Wall of Gratitude" (View below)  which will be launching soon on Thankasoldier.net.  Lexxi is now taking part in a  "Beat Bullying" tour which you can learn more about by visiting  Lexxi's webpage at Official Lexxi Saal

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Cassy's Card : I was checking my emails for Thankasoldier I received this email from a woman in Ontario who told me about her six year old daughter who had created a Christmas Card she wanted to send to soldiers.

"During Christmas break my 6 year old daughter Cassy created the attached card. Now what I think makes it so special is the fact that when she made it she was 1/2 way thru before she said to me " I'm making a Christmas Card for the soldiers Mummy" when I said " That is a great idea honey is this something you are talking about at school." Her answer was "No I just felt like doing it". I was so proud of her and I just had to share it. So I was wondering if you could help me forward it to "the soldiers."

"Do you mean soldiers in Afghanistan? Or do you mean the soldiers here in Toronto?"

I asked Cassy which soldiers she meant and this was her reply.... "I meant the soldiers who have died, and the soldiers in Afghanistan, and the soldiers in Hati, and here and all over the world. I know that we can't guarantee that the dead ones will see it but I want every soldier in the world to see it"  View Cassy's Card Here 

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I hope this blog post gives you as much joy to read it as it did for me to type it up and its stories like these that renew my faith in young people and if you know of anyone doing things that I should add to this feel free to email me

Thank You & Merry Christmas  

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