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By STEVEN CALHOUN/Staff Writer

The Owasso Foundation delivered hundreds of cards to the Birmingham Veterans Administration Medical Center on Feb. 13.

The cards were collected from students in Chilton County schools as part of the National Salute to Veteran Patients, a program that gives people a chance to send Valentine’s Day gifts to VA medical facilities.

“It is touching to see how much a simple act of kindness means to the men and women who bravely stood watch so that we may all lay our head down at night and know that we are safe and secure,” Owasso Foundation Chairman Mike Welborn said in a press release. “It’s the little things that mean so much to them – especially knowing that society has not forgotten what they stand for.”

Owasso asked the students to make cards, and the schools provided everything, according to Josh Jennings of Owasso. Representatives went around to the schools to collect the lovingly made Valentines into a large suitcase.

When Welborn and Vice Chairman Phil Burnette delivered the suitcase full of students’ cards, education liaison Sherry Cox was overwhelmed by how many there were, according to the press release.

“I wish that all students could have seen the smiles on the faces of the veterans when they received a card,” Cox said.

According to Jennings, there were so many cards that the group had to go deliver some at the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center.

The Owasso Foundation is a nonprofit organization in Chilton County founded to serve veterans and their families. For more information, go to owassofoundation.org or call 205-312-9183.