Kay Lantow and Linda Nicholson
Calling all SaddleBrooke Ranch residents to duty for Wreaths Across America. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, December 17, 2016 at the Evergreen Cemetery in Tucson.
Sheron Jones, an American Gold Star Mother and president of the Tucson Chapter, is also the location coordinator for the Tucson event. Sheron helped us to organize our first effort in 2014, and this will be the third annual effort by SaddleBrooke Ranch to honor Veterans with a Christmas wreath.
Worcester Wreaths of Harrington, Maine organized Wreaths Across America in 1992, placing their wreaths at Arlington Cemetery. By 2015 with the help of volunteers and corporations, over 900,000 wreaths were donated and placed at over 1,100 participating locations.
In 2014 Ranch volunteers numbered 10. The day of the ceremony we had 750 wreaths to lay. Wreath donations come from all sources. In 2015 our Ranch volunteer force grew to 40 and the number of wreaths to 990. Even with this increase in wreath donations there were still not enough to honor all the Veterans’ graves.
As our Ranch community grows, so does our commitment and effort to honor our Veterans and their families. Please consider joining us on Saturday, December 17, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. for a touching ceremony and the privilege of placing a beautiful wreath on a Veteran’s grave.
In addition to the fundraising brochures we are selling raffle tickets to win a new 2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350. The Jim Click Automotive Team is presenting the car as a featured prize for non-profit organizations in Greater Tucson. The Gold Star Mothers of Tucson is one of those charities. Raffle tickets sell for $25 each or five for $100. Checks and cash will be accepted. All 100% of the proceeds from the raffle go to purchasing wreaths.
To volunteer, purchase raffle tickets and to receive a paper brochure, please contact Kay Lantow at [email protected] or Linda Nicholson at [email protected]. The cost of one wreath is $15. Wreath donations can also be made on the website: www.wreathsacrossamerica.org. To obtain more wreaths for Evergreen Cemetery in Tucson, please enter these codes on either the paper order or the website: Group ID: AZ0007P and Location ID: AZEGCT. Wreath donations should be made no later than November 15.
For more information about Wreaths Across America, visit: www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.