Hosting a fundraising event for Honor Flight Chicago is just one of the many ways schools can support veterans in their community. Every dollar collected by a student is an expression of gratitude for the service of a veteran. Every dollar donated makes it possible for a veteran to experience their day of honor in Washington DC.
Operation Education has had the HONOR of working with many schools on their fundraising events. We THANK the students and staff for their dedication and generosity. We hope these past stories INSPIRE your school to host a fundraising event of your own. We look forward to sharing your story in the future.
The Purple Banner
Honor Flight Chicago celebrates the countless schools that joined Operation Education in honoring veterans by raising funds, writing letters, inviting veterans into their assemblies, school productions, libraries and classrooms, adopting community veterans on their flights and making sure Veterans Day is everyday!
In 2022-2023 we launched Guardian Schools. This is a way to celebrate schools that are outstanding supporters of the mission of Honor Flight Chicago: Operation Education. Each school raised enough money to sponsor a veteran on their day of honor, currently $1,200+. Schools that reached this milestone are given a purple banner to proudly display in their school.
Some school participated in an Operation Education 5K. Others created their own Fun Run or participated in Penny Wars. And still others found other ways to raise money through pencil or sticker sales.
Guardian School Spotlights
Gower Middle School used the Honor Flight Chicago Virtual 5k as part of a service project for a school wide initiative. There were other aspects of the service project that were not financially based, but there were two main aspects of fundraising that Gower used. First was the virtual 5k and the second was sticker or bracelet selling.
Every year for fundraising, Gower Middle also displays the amount of money collected in the form of fundraising thermometers. As students donate, they get to color a part of the thermometer and write their name on it to show their contribution to the cause. Around the thermometers are small signs letting students know what their money has been able to provide ($10 is personalized dog tags for a veteran, $5 provides breakfast, $25 provides a shirt etc).
The 5k is run after school at a park close to the school, where the school’s cross country team normally runs. Teachers connect with the local park district in charge of the park and book the space for the desired afternoon. Students, staff and parents are able to register online using the HFC website and sign up for the Gower team so it is easy for teachers to track who has signed up. Registration closes a week before the event to allow time for organization and material pick
up. The day of the race, student volunteers help place marking signs around the course and set up a start/finish line tent. Gower also invites other local schools to join their 5k as well. Those schools are told to either make their own team or join Gower’s so materials can be arranged. At the start/finish tent there is a small display for HFC and a donation box for any family members who would like to contribute.
The other fundraiser Gower Middle School does is selling HFC bracelets or stickers. They alternate to try to entice students each year and sell bracelets/stickers for $3 or 2 for $5. These are sold at lunch by student leaders as well as from the sponsor teachers themselves.
Veterans Day 2022 was the first time my district celebrated the day, as this had always been a non-attendance day. We put together a plan and had great success, but also learned many things.
Gurnee District 56 consists of four separate schools: a preK-2 building; a 3-5 building; a 6-8 middle school and a K-8 building. Each building created a committee of teachers to plan and decide what their building would do for Veterans Day. For this year, each building planned different activities to celebrate the day.
Each building conducted a Penny Wars, although each building was slightly different. The youngest grades held it for two weeks, the 3-5 building did also. The other two buildings went for about three weeks each. Also, each building included an incentive which was decided by the building committee. In the younger grades, K-2 and 3-5, the class in each grade level that brought in the most donations had popcorn and juice with a veteran. The middle school chose juice and donuts for the class at each grade level that brought in the most donations and received their incentive after the big day based on the teaching schedule.
The district office provided all classrooms with the same donation collection containers, pictured here, so teachers didn’t have to scrounge and also to create unity in the district. The idea of creating unity is another of the lessons that we learned. We also felt it was important to get as much “buy in” from the teachers as possible and providing the containers was a way to show that we value their involvement.
On Veterans Day each building, again, chose slightly different events.
The K-8 building held a flag raising ceremony at 8 am in front of their building with the school band playing a medley of military songs. Afterwards, the veterans visited various classrooms.
In the K-2 building, the students sat along the main hallway walls and the Veterans came through the “parade route” and into the gym where the chorus sang some songs. It has already been decided that these will be the two events held next year with the parade route in the younger grades and the flag ceremony for the other two buildings. We realize now that it is important for all students to participate in some way with the day’s activities.
Key things that we’ve learned so far:
- When collecting coins – regularly take them to the bank and keep a running tally. (We waited until the end and we had over $5,000.00 in coins to transport!)
- If you have a lot of classrooms, don’t plan to put a veteran in each one. Rather, plan whole building events or combine classrooms and keep the number of visiting veterans smaller and the amount of time shorter.
- Look for ways to show your passion for the event to teachers and students in order to generate as much enthusiasm as possible. For instance, I spoke to students at each building prior to the Penny Wars kick-off and taught them about Honor Flight and ways that they can help. I like to think the personal talk helped to inspire the students and staff. With each successive year, we will learn more about conducting successful Penny Wars, but at this point, these are some of the key lessons we’ve taken away from our first year. Remember, you can always find opportunities to have veterans visit your school throughout the year rather than just one day.
Frankfort School District 157c’s, Hickory Creek Middle School, located in Frankfort Illinois, has been collecting donations for Honor Flight Chicago for over fifteen years. The school has created a curriculum with an established goal for students in grades 6-8 to develop an appreciation for the sacrifices Veterans make on behalf of their fellow citizens. As one of the current Illinois Social Science Standards Taking informed action within one’s community, students at Hickory Creek Middle School are active participants throughout the lessons taught and contributions made by the students and faculty.
Donations are made through a pizza lunch fundraiser, selling of flags, a friendly competition amongst social studies classes called ‘Money Wars’ and various community donations. This past November 2022, Hickory Creek presented a check donation of $11,068.08 to Honor Flight Chicago during its annual Veteran’s Day assembly. Hickory Creek Middle School has been honored by being given the recognition as an ‘Operation Education’ Guardian School because of the commitment and valuable educational lessons students are engaged in to meet the established goal of appreciation for the sacrifices for all Veterans.
