HOPE Crew project volunteers in Chalmette National Cemetery are on track to clean 10,000 headstones and markers in preparation for Memorial Day. As of Thursday, April 20th, 411 volunteers from the local community and from across the United States have contributed a total 1,303 hours cleaning, documenting and realigning headstones in service to our veterans.
This Volunteer Month event has received participants from several organizations including the American Heritage Girls Troops LA 1502 and 1504, Holy Cross High School, the Single Marine Program of New Orleans, Tulane University, Boy Scouts of America Troop 315, the East High School JCFA, JROTC LA-931st, St. Francis High School, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, as well as many dedicated individuals and families.
HOPE Crew partners at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, and the National Center for Preservation Technology and training would like to thank all participants and project sponsors at D2 Biological Solution, Oak and Laurel Cemetery Preservation, LLC, PJ’s Coffee, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, and McDonald’s for their support in this effort.
Despite reaching this preservation milestone, there is still work to be done. Chalmette National Cemetery is the resting place of an estimated 16,000 troops, and thousands of monuments remain in need of cleaning, documentation, and realignment before the Memorial Day flag planting volunteer project on May 26.
