The junior class at Austin Preparatory School in Reading raised more than $1,800 for Operation Thank You in Lowell. 

Operation Thank You is a nonprofit organization that serves veterans of the United States military. It was established in May, 2009. 

To raise the money, juniors hosted a schoolwide Dress Down Day, where students paid $5 to spend the day out of uniform. The class officers – President Timothy Connelly of Peabody, Secretary Meghan Phelan of Lynn, Public Relations & Community Service Coordinator Catherine Charry of Melrose and Vice President Jonathan Saurman of Pelham, N.H. – collected more than $1,800. 

According to Operation Thank You’s chairman, Robert Page, the group visits local nursing and veterans homes and hosts a pizza party for the residents. The group tries to visit one home very six weeks, and each resident is given a gift bag at the end of the party. 

Each party costs between $300 and $1,000 and Operation Thank You relies solely on donations, Page said. All of the group’s members are volunteers and every penny raised goes toward the population they serve.