This past week, students in the Fairland schools have been collecting donations to aid those who were injured in service to their country.

A donation drive for the Wounded Warrior Project took place at all schools in the district, with each class assigned a bucket to collect, cash, coins and checks.

Fairland West Elementary Principal Teresa Johnson said the results have been impressive, with one classroom collecting more than $500 as of Friday and several in the $100-$300 range.

The Wounded Warrior Project works to aid serves veterans and service members who have faced a physical or mental injuries, illness, or wounds, coinciding with service on or after Sept. 11, 2001.

According to the project, a growing number of service members are surviving severe wounds or injuries, due to advancements in battlefield medicine and body armor.

To illustrate this point, the project says, for every American soldier killed in World Wars I and II, there were 1.7 soldiers wounded. Compare that to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, where,  for every soldier killed, seven were wounded.

More than 48,000 servicemen and women have been physically injured in the recent military conflicts.

The charity offers a variety of programs to help these service members, such as outdoor rehabilitative retreats, professional services, adaptive sports, health, nutrition, and recreational activities. The goal is to helps them achieve independence and pursue quality of life.

We applaud the Fairland schools for organizing this efforts and commend the students for their hard work in helping those who have sacrificed for the nation.