Members of the Helping Heroes of America Club spent part of April 19 preparing 34 care packages for US troops. More than 20 students worked to sort the materials, pack boxes and write letters to the troops.

“This event was made possible by generous donations from the Mundelein community, Mundelein businesses, MHS sophomore student leadership and MHS staff members,” said Nicole Malham, advisor to the group.

Helping Heroes of America was formed shortly after a Veterans Day celebration at MHS that included more than 75 local veterans. Sophomore Matt Pawlowski was so moved by the ceremony that he asked the school to support his interest in forming the club.

The care packages will be an ongoing project for the group and they have future plans to collect the memoirs of veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam to preserve the stories they have to share.