City, CCISD benefit from Fort Hood Thrift Shop grants

Special to Leader-Press

Preteen Miss Five Hills Romella Spitzer, a Williams/Ledger Elementary fourth grader, sits beside her sister, Samantha, as they create artwork together. It is one of the activities that help keep Samantha calm. This inspired Spitzer to apply and receive a $1,500 grant from the Fort Hood Area Thrift Shop to assist Copperas Cove ISD in creating sensory classrooms in every elementary school.
“In addition to assisting students with their education and helping them learn life skills so that they can be independent as adults, sensory classroom equipment also helps students who a struggling with their emotions like when their parents are deployed,” Spitzer said. “It allows them to cope and be mentally and emotionally prepared to learn in the classroom and ultimately become productive adults in society.”
The City of Copperas Cove Animal Control Facility also benefitted from a $1,000 grant for the fifth consecutive year, thanks to the Five Hills titleholders applying for the funds. 2020 Five Hills Ambassador Kaydence Roberts received a $1,000 grant for the animal shelter this year. 
“This grant assists the shelter, allowing it to house and care for more animals, which gives our military community the option to adopt pets,” Roberts said. “This grant also allows military personnel a safe place to drop off animals that cannot travel with them to their new duty stations.”
The Fort Hood Area Thrift Shop awarded $95,000 in grants to 24 organizations this year, including a $500 grant for Copperas Cove senior citizens to benefit from the Peaceful Mat project headed up by 2021 Five Hills Ambassador Dawn Hale. 
“We have approximately 300 residents in nursing homes in Copperas Cove and another 50-60 who receive services through our local senior citizens center. We have also tripled our Meals on Wheels program to serve another 300 elderly residents who are homebound,” said Hale. “All of these populations would benefit from having a Peaceful Mat of their own.”
2020 Little Mister Five Hills Jordan Hendrix, Jr. received a $500 grant from the Fort Hood Thrift Shop to continue his service project, Cards Across the Ocean.
“This donation will allow more handmade cards to reach more service members while deployed,” said Hana Hendrix, Jordan’s mother. “Keeping morale high and letting our soldiers know that they are appreciated when far from home, family, and loved ones is vital to their mental and emotional health and success on the battlefield.”
The family plans to make 500 cards for each holiday with the next ones being for Father’s Day and Fourth of July.