Wreaths Across America. What you need to know for 2020.

National Wreaths Across America Day is a free, non-political event, that honors and remembers our nation’s veterans who are laid to rest in 2200 different locations nationwide.

What is National Wreaths Across America Day?

National Wreaths Across America Day is a free, non-political event, that honors and remembers our nation’s veterans who are laid to rest in 2200 different locations nationwide. While this event is usually open to all people, this year each individual location will be abiding by necessary safety guidelines and rules set forth by the participating cemetery locations, at which we are their guests.

How much is a wreath for Wreaths Across America?

A single wreath for Wreaths Across America is $15. But there are more options if you are interested in sponsoring more than one wreath. Click on the SPONSOR WREATHS on the Wreaths Across America website.

• 1 Wreath Individual Sponsorship ($15)
•  2 Wreaths ($30.00)
•  5 Wreaths ($75.00) *Most Popular
•  10 Wreaths ($150.00)
•  Custom Number of Wreaths

Are the wreaths for Wreaths Across America live wreaths?

Wreaths Across America does not “decorate” headstones. They are honoring all veterans and active military members by placing live wreaths on the headstones of veterans. The fresh evergreens have been used for centuries as a symbol recognizing honor and as a living tribute renewed annually.

The wreaths are hand-crafted of all-American balsam and hand-tied with a red velvet bow in Columbia Falls, Maine. The wreath will then be sent to one of the participating locations, where a volunteer will place it on the marker of a fallen hero. That volunteer will then “say their name” to ensure that the legacy of duty, service and sacrifice of that veteran is never forgotten.

What is the mission of Wreaths Across America?

Wreaths Across America (WAA) is a national nonprofit organization founded in 2007 to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. Since its founding, the organization has expanded to include nearly 3,000 local fundraising groups in all 50 states, representing more than 2,150 participating locations, in addition to Arlington National cemetery. Every year since 2008, Congress proclaims a Saturday in December as National Wreaths Across America Day. WAA’s mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – is carried out in part by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington, as well as at veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states.

Remember

• WAA’s annual pilgrimage from Columbia Falls, Maine, to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia has become known as the world’s largest veterans’ parade, stopping at schools, monuments, veterans’ homes and communities all along the way to remind people how important it is to Remember, Honor and Teach.
• The Remembrance Tree Program provides a living memorial to loved ones lost. A replica dog tag is made in honor of your loved one and it is attached to the trunk of an evergreen tree on the tip land in Maine where the brush is harvested every third year to make veterans’ wreaths.
• The HART Ceremony (Honoring Allies and Remembering Together) is conducted each year to honor veterans of our nation’s allies in ceremonies on international border-crossing bridges between Calais, Maine and St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada; Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario, Canada; and Sweetwater, Montana and the Alaskan/Canadian border.
• WAA hosts statehouse ceremonies in nearly 50 states.

Honor

• Through WAA’s national group fundraising program, it has helped other nonprofits and civic groups such as Civil Air Patrol, Scouts, 4- H Clubs, local VFWs and American Legions raise funds for their own community needs. Since 2007, Wreaths Across America has given back more than $11 million to local groups through this fundraising structure.
• WAA conducts several programs to honor our veterans, including our popular Thanks-A-Million campaign, which distributes free “I Owe You” cards to people all over the country to share with veterans as a simple thank-you for their service and a promise to give back.
• The organization participates in veterans’ events throughout the year as well as public outreach through Veterans Day and Memorial Day programs, Wreaths Across America Radio, in our monthly newsletters, in press coverage and on the website.
• The Wreaths Across America Museum located at the National Headquarters in Columbia Falls, Maine, showcases thousands of items that have been donated to Wreaths Across America over the decades. All donations help to provide insight and tell the greater story of the experiences of U.S. military personnel.
• Wreaths Across America has a veteran liaison on staff to work with local veterans’ organizations in Maine.

Teach

• WAA is committed to teaching younger generations about the value of their freedoms and the importance of honoring those who sacrificed so much to protect those freedoms. We offer learning tools, interactive-media projects and opportunities for schools, 4-H clubs, Scouts and other youth groups to participate in our efforts.
• The Mobile Education Exhibit is a traveling classroom on wheels designed to inspire and educate all about the mission and those who lives have been impacted by it. The goal of the Wreaths Across America Education Exhibit is to bring local communities and our military together with education, stories and interactive connections.

How many wreaths do Wreaths Across America lay?

In 2019 2.2 million veterans’ wreaths were placed in total across the country – 254,000 of them at Arlington National Cemetery. More than two million volunteers participated at 2,158 locations nationwide, with 38,500 volunteers laying wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery. More than a third of the volunteers across the country were children. Nearly 600 truckloads of wreaths were delivered across the country by hundreds of volunteer professional truck drivers using donated equipment and fuel from approximately 250 carriers.

For more information about this year’s events, to sign up to be a volunteer or to sponsor a wreath, please visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WAAHQ, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @WreathsAcross and listen to Wreaths Across America Radio 24/7.