At Herrin Junior High School, the idea started small — just a few boxes and a simple goal: fill them with enough food to brighten Thanksgiving for a handful of local veterans. Within days, the collection table outside the sixth-grade classrooms began to fill with cans and boxes brought from home, each one adding up to something bigger than any single student imagined.

“Even if they could only bring one can,” says sixth-grade teacher Carie Furlow, “they brought it with love and pride.”

It all started with a phone call. Furlow’s aunt, a longtime supporter of veterans, told her about a special Blessing Boxes for Veterans drive through the Marion VA Medical Center — a project to provide Thanksgiving meals to veterans in need. Each box would hold everything for a full dinner: canned vegetables, mashed potatoes, gravy, and a gift card to purchase a turkey.

“I thought, this is something our kids can do,” Furlow says. “It’s tangible. They can see it, touch it, and know exactly who it’s for.”

She shared the idea with her sixth-grade teammates, Jessica Apple and Valerie Frese, and within hours, the project became a grade-level mission. “The whole hallway just jumped in,” Apple says.

Time wasn’t on their side. The teachers learned of the opportunity just days before fall break, leaving them only a single school week to organize, promote, and collect. “We told the kids on a Monday,” Apple says, “and by Friday, boxes were overflowing.”

Midweek, Furlow fell ill and missed three crucial days. But when she returned, she found her students and colleagues had kept everything moving. “That’s how we work here,” she says. “If one person starts something, everyone else picks up the rope. We don’t let go until the job’s done.”

By week’s end, the sixth-grade team of 170 students had assembled six complete blessing boxes — each neatly packed, labeled, and ready to be delivered. “It’s not about the number,” Furlow says. “It’s about the love in every can.”

The teachers even covered the cost of the turkey gift cards themselves. “We didn’t have time to find sponsors,” Apple admits. “We just did it. We knew it mattered.”

For Apple, whose family includes multiple veterans — both grandfathers, an uncle, a cousin in the National Guard, and a sister in the Navy — the project carried personal meaning. “This was our way of showing students what it means to step up when someone needs you,” she says.

Valerie Frese was inspired by how her students embraced the challenge. “They weren’t just collecting food,” she says. “They were learning empathy, service, and gratitude. They realized this wasn’t adults doing something for them — it was them doing something for others.”

For students like Rayna Acray and Lincoln Shaffer, whose fathers both served in the Army, the project felt especially close to home. “It makes me feel good inside to donate,” Raina says. “My dad served, and it’s special to think about helping someone like him.” Lincoln nods. “It feels great because we’re giving Thanksgiving dinner to people who served our country.”

Their classmate Beau Blakey adds, “It feels good to help people who’ve done something important for us.”

Furlow calls this class “the giving grade,” and it’s easy to see why. In addition to the Blessing Boxes, they’ve raised food for the Herrin House of Hope, gathered supplies for animal shelters, and organized cleanup days on campus. “Every time we do something like this,” Frese says, “they show up with more heart than we could ever expect.”

And sometimes, that generosity shines brightest where it’s least expected. “Some of our kids don’t come from families that have a lot,” Furlow says. “But they still gave. They still showed up.”

By Thanksgiving week, six veterans and their families sat down to dinner because a group of sixth graders in Herrin decided to act.

Asked why she thinks it mattered so much, Raina smiles. “Because we did it together.”

And in Herrin, that’s what being a Tiger has always meant — lifting one another up, one small act of kindness at a time.