In honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Allied invasion of northern France during World War II (D-Day) and the YMCA’s 175th birthday – both of which occurred on June 6, 100 years apart -- the Y is leading a volunteer day of service at Jefferson Barracks National Military Cemetery.
On Saturday, June 8, the Y recruited more than 300 volunteers, including veterans, Y members and staff, community groups and others, for a morning of reflection and to lay flowers and flags at gravesites of World War II era veterans buried at the Cemetery.
“Ys around the world are celebrating the 175th birthday of our organization with a day of action with local volunteer efforts in their communities,” said Andrew Stack, military and veteran liaison at the Gateway Region YMCA. “Here in our community, what better way to commemorate these two anniversaries than by joining together to recognize those individuals who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms during World War II.”
The Y has set a goal for volunteers worldwide to serve at least 175 minutes at each community event.
Volunteers met at five Y branches in MO and IL at designated as rally points, named after the five Normandy beach landing-site codenames -- Gold, Juno, Omaha, Sword, and Utah. More information is available gwrymca.org/programs/volunteer