Students at Mariners Christian School in Costa...

Students at Mariners Christian School in Costa Mesa created more than

700 Valentine’s Day cards that were delivered by volunteers to

patients at Long Beach Veterans Hospital on Thursday.

Throughout the week of Jan. 31, teachers allowed students time

during class to write and decorate the messages. Many of the

recipients are in residential units for spinal cord injuries or are

in nursing-home care.

Helen Conroy, parent of seventh-grade student Ryan Conroy, has

organized this project for each of the last five years. She also

collected more than 200 cards from students atWoodbridge High School

in Irvine.

Teachers at Mariners have used the projects to show the military’s

role in American history.