The Veterans Memorial Park of America (VMPA) has a busy schedule for the month of July. The organization will have two big fundraisers to help bring in money for the Veterans Community Outreach Center to be built on the grounds. Plans for a museum will follow after the completion of the facility.
The first event will be on Saturday, July 1, at the park. The VMPA will be hosting a community yard sale and celebration in honor of Independence Day. The day will include food, craft, and item vendors, and a Kids Corner with bouncy houses, games, coloring, and other activities. Concessions like hotdogs, chips, drinks, popcorn, and Kona Ice will be available for purchase. Fire, rescue, and law enforcement members will be onsite for meet and greets, and local organizations will be handing out community information.
Booth spots are still up for grabs for anyone who would like to sell items at the yard sale. Spaces are $10 each, and step up and registration will begin at 7 a.m. The sale starts at 8 a.m. with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and the day ends at 7 p.m.
The second VMPA benefit will be on Saturday, July 29, at Cruzer’s Drive Thru. Xtreme Kustoms Car Club and other sponsors will be putting on a car show for the park. Registrations will be from 9 – 11 a.m., and the show will be from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Judging is set to be completed by 12:30 p.m. with awards handed out at 2:30 p.m. Door prizes will be given out throughout the event. The registration fee is $15, and if you would like to do so ahead of time, you can pre-register by calling 910.918.2501. The rain date for the car show is Aug. 5. An administrator for the VMPA will be setup to receive proceeds and to collect any donations made to the park.
After years of planning and hard work, the VMPA held a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 26 officially opening the grounds. Randy and Angela Norris and their crew have been working diligently since 2016 to build and construct the tract of land that pays tribute to both past and present members of the seven branches of the military from the American Revolution forward.
It was at that event that Angela Norris issued one of her infamous challenges.
“I’m making a challenge to each and every one of you and everyone you know. We are going to be doing a 250 Club challenge, and I need at least 3,000 people to give a minimum of $250 each for the next phase of the park,” said Norris at the ceremony.
County representatives and other attendees accepted the challenge with open arms. Ten contributors already pledged the $250 and several others vowed to donate $500. The park currently has 40 pledges for the ongoing challenge.
Once the center is built, the contributors’ names will be engraved on 21 dog tags that will be displayed on the wall at the building. Though the task may seem impossible, Norris is confident that the community will love and support the VMPA as much as she and the other volunteers do.
The Veterans Memorial Park of America is located at 6354 James B. White Highway South in Whiteville. Cruzer’s can be found at 807 Jefferson Street. If you would like to donate, pledge your $250, participate in the yard sale, volunteer, or become a sponsor for the VMPA, contact Angela Norris at 910.840.3848.
