Valentines for Veterans: Rep. Melanie Stansbury hands out handmade v-day cards to vets

Feb. 9—Armed with a box full of handmade Valentine's Day cards and a smile, Rep. Melanie Stansbury spent Friday afternoon visiting and handing out the cards to patients at the Raymond G. Murphy Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. This was all a part of Stansbury's third annual "Valentines for Veterans" project.

The cards being handed out on Friday were handmade by students at Kirkland and Wherry elementary schools. Stansbury visited patients in several sections of the hospital, taking time to hand each of them a card and stopping to listen to their stories. She said this program is among those she looks forward to the most during the year.

"It's one of the most amazing, heartfelt experiences," she said. "Seeing our young people connect with our veterans and knowing that their handmade art is going to veterans and is going to bring up (each veteran's) day, it's an honor to be the intermediary."