The holiday outlook visibly brightened for two Amarillo College student veterans and their families thanks to the generosity of Unit 6 of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1475.
Five members of Unit 6, the post’s motorcycle contingent, surprised AC student veterans Christopher Higgs and Peter Schmitt on Dec. 13 by handing each checks for $1,000 during a brief gathering at AC’s Veterans Office.
Each family also received a large box crammed with everything necessary to prepare a full and hearty Christmas dinner.
“So amazing,” said Higgs, who has small children at home, including one with special needs. “I’m so thankful to these awesome veterans.”
For the third year in a row, Unit 6 contacted Kelly Murphy, AC veterans’ coordinator, and told her they had some extra money in their scholarship fund, money they wanted to distribute at Christmastime among some veterans in particular need.
Murphy nominated Higgs and Schmitt, and VFW’s scholarship committee agreed and delivered checks to the unsuspecting recipients, who did not know why they had been summoned to Murphy’s office.
“What a wonderful surprise,” said Schmitt, who, along with his wife, cares for five children 9 and under – one of their own, and four nieces, for whom they have become the legal guardians. “Christmas suddenly looks a whole lot brighter.
“I can’t tell you just how grateful we truly are.”
-Amarillo College
