Helping Our Veterans

Today, there are more than 18 million living veterans in the United States, making up roughly 6% of our country's adult population. Countless men and women who have served our country are left with not only visible wounds, but invisible wounds as well, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress.

This activity from the Project Heart Beats series puts the real numbers in front of students and introduces them to organizations like Veterans Community Project doing something extraordinary about it. It also tells the story of Colorado middle schoolers who organized a collection drive, presented to their classmates, and shipped care packages directly to veterans in need.

Students use the Design Thinking Process to design their own response — whether that's a food drive, a letter-writing campaign, a fundraiser, or a partnership with a local veterans' organization. Because our veterans showed up for us. Let's do the same for them.