An annual honor making sure our fallen veterans are commended for their service during the holiday season is in need of support. 

Through Wreaths Across America, for $17, you can sponsor a holiday wreath to be laid at a veteran’s headstone at Fort Snelling National Cemetery — the deadline to do so is Dec. 2. 

“It really hits the heart when you see it all happen,” Andrea Eichmann, with local nonprofit The People’s Patriot Project, said about the wreath-laying ceremony. 

That ceremony is set for Dec. 14, where Eichmann’s team helps organize it. People can also volunteer to help place the wreaths.

“Our goal right now would be to get more [wreaths sponsored] than last year,” Eichmann said. “[We had] 25,000 last year, [it] makes me want 30,000 this year. Really honestly, the more we can cover, the better it feels.”

Their ultimate goal is to get a wreath at each of the nearly 200,000 headstones at Fort Snelling National Cemetary. 

“The wreath is the catalyst that brings people together,” Amber Caron, with Wreaths Across America, said. 

“There’s a lot of our heroes laying at rest that their family can’t be there and nobody’s visiting them. So I think it’s important, it’s it’s more than just placing the wreath,” Caron said. 

Caron adds there are ‘sponsorship groups‘ where plans include those groups getting $5 back for every wreath they get sponsored.