ASHLEY JO CARTER

Ashley Carter has served more than 500 hours on her Veteran’s project. This started out as a request from Ann Landers to send Valentines to Veterans in Veterans Centers and Hospitals and has grown into each major holiday. Each Veteran at the Clinton Center is remembers on the eight major holidays. Some of Ashley’s specialties are making and coloring cards, baking cookies, filling bags, buying treats, writing letters for help with her project, sending thank you cards, shaking hands and trading hugs with the 145 residents at the Center.

Ashley’s goal is to make every Veteran feel special and show them they are remembered. She also thanks them for giving their time serving our country. She makes it a point to do something unique for each Veteran on Valentine’s Day, Easter, Father’s Day, July the Fourth, Halloween, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. She accepts donations to help defray the costs.

Her time has also been valuable to the Seiling VFW. Ashley helped build their memorial, helps entertain, cook and clean for fundraisers. She has raised more than seven thousand dollars to date. Ashley creates and distributes “Get Out and Vote!” signs in addition to raising, lowering and folding the 44 American Flags the VFW puts out on patriotic holidays.

Ashley is also very active in 4-H, FFA, Art Club and is the school mascot. She judges at contests, sells FFA plants and sausage. She has also been a 4-H camp counselor for several Years. In addition, Ashley teaches workshops for children for 4-H as well as for Community Education. She makes craft items for an annual Cancer Bazaar and has raised 800 dollars for that cause to help benefit a special cancer patients.

Ashley picks angel from the Angel Tree each Christmas and buys and wraps clothes and toys for needy children. She helps the VFW members repair, sand and paint bicycles for need children in the county for the holidays. She also works at the booths at the Town Halloween Carnival each year, and Ashley and other members of the 4-H club held a car wash to raise money for Cordel tornado victims. Another charity Ashley works to support is the Ronald Mc Donald House. She works to get donations to forward to the families and children being served at the House.

Because she sees the impact of her service to the Veterans, Ashley approached the elementary school principal about having a school-wide project. She suggested the children make Christmas cards for the Veterans.

Ashley has sacked 275 pounds of candy, signed more than 1,200 Valentines, baked in excess of 1,800 cookies and collected almost 650 pairs of socks. She has created, colored and cut more than 3,350 cards and filled almost 910 plastic eggs with candy. In addition, she has contacted 32 major companies for donations of personal items to give in the Christmas bags. All of this work is done to help the Veterans who have served our country with such dedication feel appreciated and remembered.