Centenary University’s Office of Veterans Affairs teamed with the Woman’s Club of Hackettstown, Waterloo United Methodist Church, and the university’s Office of Community Engagement to collect and distribute holiday goodie bags to nearby VA hospitals.

Seventy-four goodie bags were distributed in all. The annual drive runs from Veterans Day through early December. Donations were gathered at Waterloo United Methodist Church and at Hackettstown Library.

“The generosity of the community never ceases to amaze me,” said Margie Pavlichko, director of veteran services at Centenary. “This takes a village, and I am grateful for that village. COVID-19 made everything from donation drop-off to delivery more complicated, but the community stepped up and their response was phenomenal.”

In addition to the collection drive, Centenary students recently took part in a campaign to create Thank You cards for veterans.