Today's guest post is written by Krystal Shirrell, 18, of Brownsburg, Ind. Earlier this year, Krystal was named a State Honoree by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards for her work supporting U.S. veterans and soldiers.

Veterans Day is an important day for me and one that changed my life.  Three years ago, I was at a Veterans Day banquet watching my sister receive an award for her volunteer efforts with "Hats of Hope," an organization she started to make hats for cancer patients.  I saw her doing something really incredible and was inspired to make a difference.  That day, I looked around the room at the brave men and women willing to sacrifice so much for me, and realized that I wanted to give back.  I remembered hearing about dialysis patients needing to control body temperature and that's how my Girl Scout Gold Award Lap Pals project was born and my passion for veterans was inspired.

Shortly after, I began making lap blankets for veterans undergoing dialysis treatment. While delivering blankets, I heard about the domiciliary for homeless veterans and then, visited the facility -- I knew right away that I wanted to do more. I have since conducted collection drives to support the residents and I host monthly bingo parties for them. In 2010, I started a thank you campaign working with younger students to color pictures for our troops and veterans. More than 17,000 pictures have been delivered as a special way to say thank you for their service. I have also taken groups of students to the VA Medical Center to personally thank the veterans and deliver patriotic artwork, hats and blankets. Last year, with the Military Support Group of Brownsburg, I organized Christmas tree decorating and a collection drive in our community. We sent 525 care packages and 107 Christmas trees to our troops in Afghanistan and provided trees for the Veterans House and each resident at the domiciliary. 

This year, I received the great honor of being named a state honoree for the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, an annual program recognizing middle and high school students for outstanding community service and volunteerism.  As Indiana's Top High School Youth Volunteer, I received a trip to Washington, D.C.  The program was an amazing experience I will cherish forever and would recommend to other teens across the country.  Entries are now available and the deadline to nominate is Nov. 6.  For information on submitting entries, visit www.spirit.prudential.com.   

During my trip to Washington, D.C., for the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, I visited the wounded warriors at Walter Reed. With the support of my school, nearly 200 pounds of snacks and comfort items were collected and distributed during the visit. I spoke with several soldiers injured in Afghanistan and visited with their families. Walter Reed was an inspiring place full of hope, courage, fight and determination. It is said you can take the soldier out of the fight, but you can’t take the fight out of the soldier. So true. The young men, women and their families were absolutely amazing. 

During a second trip to Washington, D.C., with Girl Scouts of the USA, I had the opportunity to meet with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office, as well as senior staff from Veterans Outreach and was invited to write for the White House website.  On Oct. 5, my blog about the importance of Joining Forces in support of our military troops and veterans was posted live on the website. http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/10/05/joining-forces-make-difference.

Let's make everyday Veterans Day.