St. Luke’s Council #12832 (Mint Hill) – on behalf of the Knights of Columbus, high school senior and ROTC cadet Ashley Hirst organized bake sales at her school and church and raised $2,172 to support the “Blue Steel” team from the VA Medical Center in Salisbury for the 38th National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Orlando, Florida this summer.

As part of her senior project on “Veterans  & PTSD” she was able to interview two wheelchair veterans who participated in the games. She also attended a training session at the VAMC and talked to other veterans about their experiences. Ashley was recognized for her outstanding commitment to our veterans by Grand Knight Jim Strauss and KofC VAVS Rep Mitch Miller on Sunday April 15th.