MARION, Ill. (Heartland News) - Students at Marion High School are using their art skills to raise money for a local veterans organization.
The school’s National Art Honor Society (NAHS) made red ceramic poppies to honor veterans.
The students are selling 70 of the flowers for $20 each and will donate all proceeds to Disabled American Veterans Chapter 71.
Emma Skeate, president of the Marion NAHS, created the flowers with her classmates. She said they also teamed up with welding students to make the stems.
“It really is kind of a big process, but we all come together and do it, and it’s definitely fun,” she said.
In honor of Veterans Day, the students hosted a flag-raising ceremony with the ROTC students. They invited local veterans and representatives from the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) nonprofit to attend.
Steve Coloni, auxiliary commander for the DAV Chapter 71, explained how the donation will be utilized.
“It means a lot to the DAV and the auxiliary,” he said. “The money will be used to help veterans. There’s probably 30 different veterans that have been in distress that we’ve helped this year.”
Coloni also spoke about the organization’s funding.
“All these rides that they get is strictly from donations to the DAV, and it’s all over the United States,” he said.
Teachers said this is the second year for the Poppy Project. It was inspired by an art installation in Europe honoring veterans.
Last year, the students donated to the Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois.
The students’ art teacher, Amber Akes, said the project involves students in more than art.
“It gets them involved with making the ceramics and organizing and getting in touch with people, talking with people over the phone for organizational skills, money skills, so they’re learning all kinds of life skills as they do it, also,” she said.
Skeate said she thought about the veterans in her family as she made the flowers with her classmates.
“Doing this really helps me connect more with that and be able to support them in any way that I can,” she said.
People interested in buying a flower can contact the high school .
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