Unit 23 in Point Pleasant, W.Va., teaming with city officials for event April 12, leading Purple Up Day efforts on April 15.
April is when the unique challenges, sacrifices and experiences of the children of U.S. Armed Forces are honored through the Month of the Military Child. Specifically, April 15 is designated as National Purple Up Day, when Americans are urged to wear purple to show their support and appreciation for military children by wearing purple.
This weekend, American Legion Auxiliary Unit 23 in West Virginia is teaming with its city officials to ensure the military children in their community receive the recognition they deserve.
Unit 23 is teaming with the City of Point Pleasant for a community ceremony at 1 p.m. Saturday at American Legion Post 23. Unit 23 also is encouraging members of the community to wear purple on April 15 to also show their support for military children on Purple Up Day.
The military children event will coincide with Unit 23’s annual Easter event, where children have the opportunity to have their picture taken with the Easter bunny and receive Easter goodies.
During Saturday’s event, an official proclamation in support of military children from Point Pleasant Mayor Amber Tatterson will be presented to Unit 23. The proclamation will acknowledge the challenges military children face, including frequent moves to extended separations from loved ones, as well as celebrate their adaptability and courage.
“I said, ‘Let me get with the mayor and see if she will do a proclamation for us, and then let’s turn Point Pleasant purple on the 15th,’” said Rebecca Farley, president of Auxiliary Unit 23 and the department’s historian. “We’ll identify any military children that do show up, and we’ll have a special gift for them. They’re going to get a teddy bear that has a note on it about them being our little heroes and that we’re here for them.
“That way, we can start to identify even more military children. I know there are some in our community … but I know that there are more. We have the National Guard unit here, and we also know that there are several families that live here, and their loved ones are overseas. We want to be able to start identifying them a little bit more.”
Unit 23’s efforts to honor military children don’t start and stop with the April 12 and 15 events. Farley spent a day this week addressing senior English classes at Point Pleasant High School, which is also observing Month of the Military Child. Auxiliary members wore purple shirts to the high school to promote this weekend’s event.
“The local school district, they have come together with us,” Farley said. “We started out by giving a scholarship. This last year we stepped it up a notch. We decided this last year it was about evolving, so we kicked it off with a school supply drive. We went to the school board with this overwhelming amount of school supplies. They had no idea we were doing that.
“And then we also took it further and did a hat and coat drive and took 100 sets to (the schools). They allowed us to put in our coloring books into all the elementary schools. We got all of the contest information out there. Anything we have we send over. The superintendent looks at it, approves it and sends it out for us. That relationship … is basically of service. You’re already doing it anyway, and it complements them and helps them. They welcome us.”
It's a similar relationship with city officials. An example includes Unit 23 conducted a community 9/11 event last fall that went so well that, “Now they’re looking forward to what we’re going to do this 9/11,” Farley said. “It’s coming together as a community. We have built that relationship with the City of Point Pleasant. It’s like they’re our partner, and they’re helping us to grow our programming and to really be seen from the Auxiliary and from the Legion Family as a whole.
“The more we can do to help and to make that impact in our community, to make a difference, to show that in all of the chaos and everything that’s going on, we can have a little bit of peace and harmony.”
- Community