By Catherine Wang
The Parentsâ Association is hosting an Operation Gratitude community service event on Saturday.
Families and students will participate in the Operation Gratitude Holiday Drive at the National Guard Armory in Van Nuys.
Operation Gratitude is a non-profit organization that assembles and ships care packages filled with snacks, entertainment items and letters of appreciation to U.S. Service Members deployed overseas.
Families that attend, they will prepare care packages and listen to a military veteran speak.
This is the first Operation Gratitude event the Parentsâ Association has organized.
The Parentsâ Associationâs goal is to bring families together and to create a stronger presence for Harvard-Westlake in the community, Community Service Co-Chair Pier Merone (Lawrence â14) said.
The Parentsâ Association is organizing the event with Chelsea McMahon â10. McMahon, who has been involved with Operation Gratitude for a year because she feels a special connection with the organization.
She plans on joining the Reserve Officersâ Training Corps during college and becoming a Second Lieutenant after graduating.
“Knowing that I will be overseas for at least four years, I know that when Iâm gone Iâm going to want people to send me things to show support,” she said.
“I can relate to the troops overseas and I want to do everything that I can to let them know that they are loved and appreciated,” McMahon said.
