The effort to raise money for a Flossmoor veterans wall recently got a little more colorful.
As Flossmoor Veterans’ Memorial Inc. continues its fundraising march toward the installation of a Wall of Honor in the village, the not-for-profit corporation announced a unique addition to the premiums being offered to donors. For $12.50 a pop, supporters can get Historic Flossmoor Sites Coloring Books shipped to them.
recently introduced a coloring book
featuring historic Flossmoor sites.
It is being sold to help raise money
for the proposed Wall of Honor
on Flossmoor Road.
(Photo courtesy of Flossmoor
Veterans’ Memorial Inc.)
Underwritten by Illinois Humanities and designed to be suitable for all ages, the book features 16 hand-drawn replicas of historic Flossmoor sites that trace all the way back to the early 1900s.
“The pictures in it are really cool,” said Gina LoGalbo, Flossmoor’s village clerk, who is also a Marine Corps veteran working with FVM. “There’s several I’ve never seen before.”
The images were all drawn by Richard Condon, vice president of FVM. Former Flossmoor Mayor Paul Braun, who serves as president of FVM, said Condon — a former engineer — came up with the idea.
“He must have spent about 150 hours-plus putting that together,” Braun said. “He did all of the drawings for the coloring book portion by hand.”
In addition to raising funds, the coloring book serves the purpose of getting the project out in front of the community, Braun said. It also creates an opening for children to get involved.
LoGalbo said she spent some time on Armed Forces Day at 2525 Flossmoor Road, the proposed 9,650-square-foot site where the wall is to be located, showing off the coloring books. She said Canadian National, which owns the property, recently told the village it can take down old telephone poles that are there. While the easement to allow for the wall is not yet done, LoGalbo said the village is not expecting that to be a problem.
“It’s a great site,” she said. “I think it will be very complementary to that area.”
In mid-May, Braun did a Zoom presentation with the Flossmoor Public Library to help educate the community about the project. FVM also took part in Memorial Day programs in Homewood and Flossmoor, and was slated to have a table at the 60422 event (Zip Code Party), as well.
Braun said the group had raised roughly $26,000 by late May and would start to campaign for major donors soon.
“It’s all a question of fundraising at this point,” Braun said. “Depending on how quick we can come up with another $75,000, we’re hoping sometime this fall we might be able to break ground.”
LoGalbo said she is looking forward to more fundraising efforts. She took donations on her birthday via Facebook and raised $730. She is hoping more local residents will consider collecting donations for Flossmoor Veterans’ Memorial Inc. on their birthdays through the social media platform. It all adds up, LoGalbo said, and she is eager to get to the finish line.
“I’m very mission-focused,” LoGalbo said. “Antsy to attack it because … I want our group to meet the goal so we can get going with it.”
LoGalbo added that being part of the process has allowed her to connect with more veterans in the community, including two on her street. She said she would love for Flossmoor veterans to reach out to [email protected] to put their names in the records for future events, recognition and more.
For more information about the project or to order a coloring book, visit flossmoorvets.square.site.