Pictured here are veterans’ graves with commemorative wreaths from Wreaths Across America. Courtesy photo

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - Manzanita 4-H club is participating in the nationwide program to honor fallen veterans called “Wreaths Across America.”

National Wreaths Across America Day will be on Dec. 14 at more than 4,600 locations across the United States. The ceremony is held annually on the second or third Saturday in December. The Manzanita 4-H club is collecting donations to sponsor wreaths to be placed on the graves of veterans at Gridley-Biggs Cemetery and club members will help place the wreaths. The ceremony will start at 9 a.m. Dec. 14.

The program was started in 2007, by the Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington, Maine. The motto is, ‘Remember, Honor, Teach--Remember the fallen, Honor those who serve, and Teach the next generation the value of freedom.’

Within a year, more than 300 locations held wreath-laying ceremonies in every state, Puerto Rico and 24 overseas cemeteries and more than 100,000 wreaths were placed on veterans’ graves. More than 60,000 volunteers participated, and that year, Dec. 13, 2008, was unanimously voted by the United States Congress as “Wreaths Across America Day.” By 2022, 2.7 million sponsored veteran’s wreaths were placed by volunteers at 3,702 locations.

 

Those wishing to sponsor a wreath for the local event can visit https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.