Sponsor an individual flag, or become a Corporate Sponsor
The Rotary Club of Easton will hold its 8th annual Flags for Heroes event during Memorial Day Weekend. On the heels of seven successful years of raising a quarter-million dollars and benefitting over 30 different local hero-related organizations, the Rotary Club of Easton is again fulfilling its mission of “Service above Self.”
Flags for Heroes provides members of the local community a way to honor their personal heroes including family members, friends, veterans, active members of the armed forces, teachers, firefighters, police officers, or any other individuals who have made a positive impact on their lives.
The 1000 American flags, which stand 8 feet tall, can be sponsored for $50 each in honor or in memory of personal heroes and will be displayed at multiple locations around Easton with the largest displays at the Talbot Community Center and Black & Decker field. The deadline for sponsorship is May 20th. Corporate sponsorships are also available, begin at $250, and provide worthwhile benefits to the sponsor.
Over the past seven years, with the support of Easton’s mayor, Bob Willey, Easton Utilities, The Star Democrat, Talbot County Government, and countless donors, Flags for Heroes has donated $250,000 to over 30 local community organizations, many of which provide service to veterans.
Among the organizations that received funds were: Talbot Goes Purple, a substance abuse awareness program that engages the community and its youth to stand against substance abuse; Talbot Mental Health Association, which received funding for its Veterans Fund which assists Eastern Shore Veterans in need; Operation Open Arms, an organization that provides service men and women suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder with vacations to Talbot County; Talbot County Paramedic Foundation, which received funding toward the purchase of life-saving equipment; Talbot Hospice, which received specific funding for veterans, who comprise 20 percent of the patients spending their last days at Hospice House and half of whom are in the low-to-no income category; Easton Civil Air Patrol, a volunteer organization and official auxiliary of the United States Air Force that follows a military-style program for cadets ages 12 to 21 who are interested in enlisting, entering a military academy, or perusing ROTC scholarship opportunities; Easton High School NJROTC; the Easton Police Department; the Easton Volunteer Fire Department; and many more.
In 2018, Flags for Heroes was proud to support American Legion Blake-Blackston Post #77. Post #77 has been an integral force in supporting veterans’ needs from navigating the benefits process to assisting in locating affordable housing and providing community organizations with programming that help youth and families. In preparation of its 100th anniversary celebration in 2020, Post #77 is expanding its community involvement, and its “Building to Serve” campaign will renovate, expand and modernize its Glenwood Avenue space.
In January of this year during the U. S. federal government shutdown, Flags for Heroes was able to react quickly to financially support members of the U. S. Coast Guard Station in Oxford through the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, also in Oxford.
For more information about Flags for Heroes or flag sponsorship, please visit www.flagsforheroes.org or call Jackie Wilson at 410-310-5664 and contribute by May 20th.