By Bonnie Adams
Managing Editor
Region – With Memorial Day just weeks away, many municipalities are planning commemorations and tributes. But now there is another way that citizens can help honor veterans, by purchasing small American flags that will be displayed as part of a larger group of flags in either Shrewsbury or Worcester.
The initiative, “Flags for Our Fallen,” was started last year by Shrewsbury resident Amanda Sullivan. With the help of Liberty Church officials, she sold 1,500 flags leading up to Memorial Day, for $2 each, for a total of $3,000. Those flags were then displayed at the church's 495 Hartford Turnpike, Shrewsbury location and at the New England Dream Center (NEDC) in Worcester. The funds raised were donated to NEDC, an organization that, according to its website, “inspires neglected, abused and displaced people to change their lives with a family of comprehensive social service outreach programs.”
Each flag this year will also have a ribbon on it with the name of a fallen hero, Sullivan said. The donor can designate a name or one will be selected for them.
Several businesses such as Tatnuck Bookseller in Westborough purchased starter kits of 100 flags to display at their locations, Sullivan said. She is encouraging any businesses that have done so to submit photos to her so that they may be placed on the project's website.
The flags will be displayed in Shrewsbury and Worcester starting Friday, May 24 until Flag Day, Friday, June 14. Sullivan said monies raised this year will benefit NEDC's new outreach program for veterans, “Valiant Veterans.”
Flags may be purchased online at www.flagsforourfallen.org. For more information or questions, contact Sullivan at [email protected].