Mt. Pulaski Zion Lutheran Students serve coffee and donuts to veterans at "Hope on 5th"

 

[March 09, 2024] 

On Friday morning the fifth and sixth grade students from Zion Lutheran School in Mt. Pulaski traveled to Lincoln to visit Hope on 5th, a new community support and assistance facility that will work with many individuals in the future including local veterans.

The students had chosen to do something good for local veterans as their National Day of Service community service project. From 9:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. they were on hand serving coffee and donuts to visiting veterans. Coffee was provided by the Regional Housing and Supportive Services, Inc. with donuts provided by Mel-O-Crème.

The student’s teacher, Leslie Whitson said that the school in Mt. Pulaski is observing Lutheran Schools Week, and also National Day of Service. She said the students are active in their community often doing activities such as participating in the Mt. Pulaski Fall Festival, church events, and they also have sung at local funerals. The Day of Service is a special designation, but the kids really do good things all year round.

On hand representing Hope on5th was Joe Schaler (Central Illinois Veteran’s Commission) and Kim Turner (Logan County Probation Office). Schaler said that he would call Friday the “soft opening’ of Hope on 5th. The building is still a work in progress, and it will be a while before they are ready for a grand opening. But, he said when a school principal calls and says a group of students would like to do something nice for local veterans, he has to make sure that can happen.

On Friday morning, the students were anxious to serve as more than a dozen local veterans were on hand for most of the morning and others came and went as time allowed.

Tables were set up in the dinning room area and guests sat and enjoyed their coffee while visiting with fellow veterans as well as the students.

Schaler and Turnerr joined Whitson and the students for a group photo before the kids packed up and headed back to Mt. Pulaski for the rest of the school day.

Hope on 5th is located in the former St. Clara’s Manor on Fifth Street. The building was vacated by St. Clara’s in 2018 when a new long-term care and rehab center was opened on the city’s west side.

After St. Clara’s relocation, the building was purchased by Lincoln College, with the intent of turning it into off-campus student housing. When Lincoln College closed, the building was again offered up for sale.

The building is currently being refurbished to accommodate counseling services, emergency housing, and other services for those in need including services for local veterans.

[Nila Smith]