By Linda Hobbs
Special to The PREVIEW
National nonprofit Wreaths Across America has announced recently that Hill Top Cemetery will be joining in the effort to support the mission to “Remember, Honor, Teach,” as an official location for 2021. This is the first year that the cemetery will participate in this national event.
Wreaths Across America started as a simple gesture of thanks that has grown into a national movement of dedicated volunteers and communities coming together to not only remember the nation’s fallen and honor their service, but to teach the next generation about the sacrifices made for us to live freely. This year, there will be more than 2,700 participating locations placing wreaths on National Wreaths Across America Day — Dec. 18 — with more than 2 million volunteers coming together.
The goal for Hill Top is to raise enough funds to place 374 veterans’ wreaths on the headstones of all the local heroes laid to rest there, to ensure that the individuals who served to protect the freedoms of our country never be forgotten and to bring the community together in patriotic commemoration.
“We are forever grateful for the thousands of supporters who dedicate their time and effort to fulfilling our mission on a local level,” said Karen Worcester, executive director, Wreaths Across America. “These individuals and their communities know the value of remembering the fallen, honoring those who currently serve and teaching the next generation about the sacrifices made for our freedom every day, and without their continued support, Wreaths Across America would not exist.”
Those interested in volunteering for Wreaths Across America or sponsoring a wreath for Hill Top Cemetery are invited to visit https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/CO0186P to learn more.
Groups interested in also helping to support this mission for Hill Top, please contact the location coordinator, Linda Hobbs, at LindaHobbs713@gmail.com or (713) 304-2028 to learn more. Also, several other nearby cemeteries are being supported: Greenmount Cemetery in Durango, Colo., and the Colorado State Veterans Cemetery at Homelake in Monte Vista, Colo., one in Ignacio and Bayfield. National Wreaths Across America Day is a free, nonpolitical community event open to all people.
Sponsorship can be made throughout the year; however, the cut-off date for this year’s wreath laying is Nov. 30. Sponsorships are best accomplished through the website link above via credit card or contacting the local location coordinator directly at LindaHobbs713@gmail.com or (713) 304-2028.
Wreaths Across America is the nonprofit organization best known for placing veterans’ wreaths on the headstones of our nation’s fallen at Arlington National Cemetery. However, the organization, in total, places more than 1.7 million sponsored wreaths at more than 2,700 participating locations nationwide and offers other programs throughout the calendar year. These programs include The Mobile Education Exhibit and Wreaths Across America Radio, among other education programs.
You can sponsor a wreath for $15 at: https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/CO1869. Each sponsorship goes toward a fresh balsam veterans wreath that will be placed on the headstone of an American hero as we endeavor to honor all veterans laid to rest at Hill Top Cemetery this December.
About Wreaths Across America
Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. The organization’s mission — “Remember, Honor, Teach” — is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as at thousands of veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.
For more information or to sponsor a wreath, please visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org or Hobbs at LindaHobbs713@gmail.com or (713) 304-2028.
