The township’s Garden State Rotary will host its inaugural Flags for Heroes event on Sept. 11 – a flag-raising holiday – at its complex on Evesham Road.
For the past several months, people have been able to sponsor a flag for $50 in memory of their own hero.
“Whether it be a policeman, firefighter, someone who served in the military, first responder, nurse, mentor, teacher – anybody who (is) a hero, because everybody has a hero in their life,” said Rotary President Abby Walters.
Walters was inspired by other Rotary clubs in the area who have done the event before, calling a video she saw of a former ceremony moving and inspirational.
“The whole idea is to bring the community together (and) bring public awareness of the Rotary and what the Rotary does,” she said.
There will be a sea of 75 full-sized flags at the Rotary complex on Sunday in memory of chosen heroes. Attached to each flag will be a tag that identifies the sponsor – who can take the tag home – and his or her hero and affiliation.
“This is a peaceful (event), remembering someone, because every person on the planet has some sort of hero in their life,” Walters noted. “Some people are under the misconception. ‘Oh, you can only buy a flag for a military person.’ and that’s not the case at all.
“ … Everybody has a hero in their own way,” she added. “It could’ve been a fifth grade teacher, it could’ve been a babysitter, it could’ve been their service dog.”
Walters said heroes have ranged from personal ones, like someone’s father, to public figures like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and President Joe Biden. In addition to viewing the flags, Cherry Hill Police Chief Robert Kempf will speak at the event alongside several others.
Proceeds from the flag sponsorships will go to the Rotary club, which annually holds events like Christmas for a house in Camden that serves as a temporary shelter for a mother and her children, and Strike Out Hunger, where Rotarians team with the Phillies to raise money for the eradication of polio.
In the future, the Rotary hopes to raise enough funds for a new gazebo at a township park.
The Flags for Heroes event will take place from noon to 3 p.m. The Garden State Rotary Club meets weekly at Turning Point in Cherry Hill. To learn more, visit https://district7505.org/ClubInfo/garden-state-rotary.
