Teens honor veteran grandfather at dinner. l/r: Jeremiah Smith, Alen Gottesman, Ginny Wetzel, William Smith
Veterans from all branches of the armed forces were dinner guests at Assisteens®‘ 2nd Annual ‘Honoring Our Veterans Dinner’ on Saturday, January 21st. Assisteens is the 7th through 12th grade student auxiliary of Assistance League of Temecula Valley. Wanting to honor veterans for their service, the teen group decided to host a veterans’ dinner as a way to show their appreciation for the veterans’ service to the country. The teens have been writing letters to soldiers but wanted to do something more personal.
Assisteens 12th grade event chairman Grace Jung said, “I would like to thank the veterans individually for their service and sacrifice for fighting for us and serving us. I always thanked veterans and our brave soldiers for their service, but I think it’s also about their love and dedication and compassion.”
An open invitation form to veterans was at the Assistance League Thrift Shop, 28720 Via Montezuma, Temecula, so veterans could give their contact information and the invitation was sent to various veteran groups as well as word-of-mouth about the event were ways the veterans were contacted. Veterans were also invited to bring a guest.
The meeting room adjacent to the thrift shop was festively decorated with red, white and blue table decorations and balloons. Ginny Wetzel, Assistance League President and Grace Jung, Event Chairman, welcomed guests. Leticia Plummer, Assisteens Coordinator offered the blessing. A spaghetti dinner, salad and dessert was served by Assisteens members to the 60 guests. One of the Assisteens members along with several friends sang ‘Stand By Me’ a cappella and music was provided by a DJ.
In a note to Plummer, Dave Novo and Dr. Resa Rosenstein wrote, “We just want to thank you and the Assisteens for a job well done and a thoroughly enjoyable evening! The singing was amazing- both performances- and we were so impressed!!! The meal was tasty and the servers did an excellent job tending to us.”
Assisteens membership provides opportunities for teens to develop an awareness of the needs of others, to develop leadership and self-reliance through the development and administration of Assisteens philanthropic programs, budgets, positions on the Assisteens Board and grade level Class Chairmen, and to develop and promote personal responsibility with strong ethics and values. Membership also provides the opportunity to gain retail work experience through staffing the Assistance League Thrift Shop counter on Saturdays. Teens can use their volunteer hours towards their school community service requirement.
To find out more about Assisteens membership and to download a complete membership packet go to www.assistanceleague.org/temecula-valley/ and click ‘Assisteens’ to download packet or e-mail assisteens@verizon.net.
