Honor Our Hometown Heroes

Adelia BandsmaScarsdale High School senior Adelia Bandsma came to the Scarsdale Board of Trustees meeting on January 9, 2023 to discuss her Girl Scouts Gold Award project called “Hometown Heroes”.

She explained, “‘Hometown Heroes’ are military tribute banners honoring veterans with a connection to their hometown. Hometown Heroes is a project that started in Pennsylvania and has spread nationwide. I am bringing this project to Scarsdale to celebrate and honor our hometown heroes.”

Adelia thinks that by displaying these military banners, Scarsdale residents will learn “that there are people who live here who have risked or even sacrificed their lives for our country, our security, and our freedom.”

Hometown Heroes is both a national and a local program. Similar banners have been posted in Eastchester, New Rochelle, and Ardsley.

Any military veteran who was either born in Scarsdale or currently lives in Scarsdale will be eligible to have their own banner. The banners will go up for Memorial Day 2024 and will be seen in downtown Scarsdale, along the Memorial Day parade route. Families will pay for their own veterans banners or organization, neighbors, or local businesses can act as sponsors and cover the cost of the banners.The price for each banner will be $150.

Adelia will reach out to the community to take orders for the banners. Orders can be placed by filling out a google document and uploading a photo. A mailed check will also be needed. The deadline for this google document is March 15th and the delivery is expected during the first week of May. The Scarsdale Village road crew will install the banners in time for the Memorial Day Parade.

Overall Adelia thinks that these “military tribute banners will bring awareness of veterans in our midsts. A hero could live right next door and you might not even know it. I want people in Scarsdale to feel part of something larger than just our town.”