Kiwanis Park of Honor Concludes for 2023
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Volunteers loaded American flags into a U-Haul at Park Square over the weekend as the Kiwanis Club of Pittsfield's annual fundraiser concluded.
"We truly appreciate all those that have participated this year with the Park of Honor," President Curtis Janey said during a closing ceremony on Saturday.
The Park of Honor has funded scholarships for children and grandchildren of veterans over the past decade by selling flags that are placed in the city's most central park. The flags sway in the wind in uniform rows, each representing an honoree who served the county.
This year, about 300 were sold totaling $2,500 in scholarships. Janey said the students receive a Good Citizenship Award of $500 that can be used at their discretion.
"Once they complete the first semester and they send us a copy of the grades and they show us that they signed up for the second semester, we send the kid the check and they do whatever they want with it," he said.
"We don't tell him what to use it on, which is good because you never know what they need it for. It could be for the books, it could be for something else."
An opening ceremony was held towards the end of October, drawing a larger crowd and many speaking on the impact of the annual fundraiser. This included former chairman Real Gadoury, former Kiwanis president Cheryl Tripp-Cleveland, and City Council Vice President Pete White.
Gadoury coined it the "most beautiful project in the Berkshires."
The display stays up for a month and is taken down by volunteers until the next year. Some families choose to collect their loved one's flag and purchase it the next year.
"It’s a revolving door," Janey said.
Every year, the Kiwanis Club aims to make the next year bigger than the last so that it can support education while honoring veterans who have served in the past and present.
Tags: scholarships, field of flags, veterans,
