LANCASTER – Calling all patriots! Your support is needed in the Wreaths Across America program, an effort to recognize the service and sacrifice of our veterans by honoring them with a wreath at their graves during the holidays.
With nearly 800 veterans interred at Lancaster Cemetery District, cemetery manager Dayle DeBry said this is a perfect way to honor them.
“If you have ever been to Arlington National Cemetery in the winter time you will see row after row of headstones adorned with beautiful green wreaths with large red bows against the white snow,” DeBry said. “With help from Friends of the Lancaster Cemetery and the local community, our goal is to provide 800 wreaths to adorn every veteran’s grave and every Gold Star mother and father’s grave at Lancaster Cemetery. We want to make sure every veteran is honored with a wreath.”
You may sponsor a fresh balsam wreath for only $15 by stopping by Lancaster Cemetery and filling out a sponsorship form at the cemetery office, located at 111 East Lancaster Boulevard. Businesses and individuals are welcome to sponsor 10 wreaths for $150 or 100 for $1,500.
Wreaths may also be sponsored online at www.wreathsacrossamerica.com. Sponsors must enter the location ID CALCDL for Lancaster Cemetery District and the group ID number CAFLC001 for Friends of the Lancaster Cemetery.
The Lancaster Cemetery District Board of Trustees and the Friends of the Lancaster Cemetery have once again teamed up with Wreaths Across America as part of a nationwide remembrance ceremony scheduled for December 14, 2013. The local ceremony starts at 9 a.m. at the Lancaster Cemetery.
“We are proud and honored to be participating in this national event to pay tribute to our veterans who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect the freedoms each of us in our County enjoy,” said Dave Owens, chairman, Lancaster Cemetery Board of Trustees.
The Wreaths Across America story began over 18 years ago when Worcester Wreath Company (a for-profit commercial business from Harrington, Maine) began a tradition of placing wreaths on the headstones of our Nation’s fallen heroes at Arlington National Cemetery during the holidays.
As word spread, the mission to “remember, honor, and teach” about the sacrifices made by our veterans has captured the hearts and minds of many communities across the country. In 2010, over 220,000 wreaths at 545 locations were placed in the United States and beyond.
For further details on how you can support “Wreaths Across America” locally, contact Dayle DeBry at 661-942-6110.