We have often asked ourselves questions on fundraising. We had to ask ourselves, “Can a town the size of Chapel Hill support and fund the construction of a Chapel Hill Veterans Memorial?” We believe it can.
We have watched other veterans memorials in our area grow from an idea to dedication. You will find their stories on this website under Other Memorials.
One town in Stacyville, Iowa, has an amazing story. It is a town of less than 500 people that came together to raise $70,000 to “revamp its park and build a memorial for their veterans.” Their park needed improvement, much like our Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery does now.
It was Stacyville’s first veterans memorial!
Their memorial is on a small footprint, much like our site. They thought about a marble plaque at the front with bricks etched with the names of past and present veterans. Town folk were asked to consider a brick. The plan was for just 50 bricks with 50 names to fund the memorial. They sold more than 450 bricks! They sold 466 bricks and their total population is 468. Read “the rest of the story…”
Yes, we are confident that our fundraising will far exceed our expectations and initial goal. We are only limited by the generosity of our citizens.
More on the Stacyville Veterans Memorial
- Dedication, July 26, 2014
- Memorial site plan
- “A Willingness to Serve..,” Mitchell County Press
- KIMT.com Video – “Stacyville Volunteers Finish First Veterans Memorial in Town“