Shawnee High School’s Yellow Ribbon Club, a club dedicated to supporting the men and women of the military, partnered with Jesse Pagliuso, owner of Lakes Coffee in Medford Lakes, to host their annual Valentine’s Day event, “Hug-A-Vet”.
Typically, during the event, club members are able to demonstrate their love and appreciation for our local veterans and members of the military over a hot beverage, courtesy of the club. This year, there was consideration of cancelling the event, but club members felt it was too important to not give back to our veterans and current active members.
Club Co-Presidents, seniors Brian Muller, Brooke Steel and Aleesha Deshmukh, advertised the event on social media and with flyers and the event attracted numerous veterans and current service-members who were able to have a free, take-out beverage after mentioning the Shawnee Yellow Ribbon Club by name.
Rachel Belville, club advisor, said “Shawnee’s Yellow Ribbon Club is so thankful for Jesse Pagliuso of Lakes Coffee for being flexible and working with us. As a child of a Marine and Vietnam veteran, I know how important it is to make our veterans and current military members feel appreciated and loved. I want my student members to understand that aspect and model that behavior when they are in our community by giving back to those who have sacrificed so much. Next year we look forward to not only continuing this small act of giving back, but also, hopefully, we will be able to sit down and share that love and appreciation in person.”
