My Senior Project- Honor Flight

Hi! My name is Drew Connelly and I am a senior in high school looking to raise funds for Honor Flight of New England. As a graduation requirement for my high school every student has to complete a Senior Project.  The student chooses a topic to research and works on it all year and in the end it must result in something tangible. Some examples of projects include how to build a skateboard on a $10 budget, learning to play the guitar, or putting on a comedy show in which the proceeds go to charity. I decided to make my project something that would benefit a group of people that gave more than I could ever repay...veterans.

Honor Flight is a non-profit, national network with hubs around the country that flies veterans, currently WWII and some Korean, to their monuments in Washington D.C. free of charge to them. Prior to the start of my project my father and I were lucky enough to serve as guardians on an Honor Flight that happened to take place on Father’s Day, we assisted the veterans from quarter of five in the morning until quarter of eleven at night. At the end of the day we were exhausted but it was the best Father’s Day we ever had together. To be able to see and feel the veterans’ emotions at the monuments was unbelievable, they were so grateful for the opportunity Honor Flight afforded them. Watching 90 year old veterans disembark a bus with the same excitement and energy that they boarded it with 17 hours prior is pretty moving. But one thing really bothered me... the amount of times throughout the day I heard numerous veterans say, "Before today I thought we were forgotten, I thought nobody cared or remembered". That's when I knew I wanted to try and do everything I could as a high school senior to raise awareness and funds for Honor Flight. 

My goal is to get as many veterans to the memorials in Washington D.C. as possible. The rough cost to send a veteran to D.C. through Honor Flight is $400. Please join me and support me in my journey to fight to make the veterans that fought for us feel not forgotten. Help me bring closure to them by sending them to see their memorials in Washington, D.C. If you’re financially unable to support this cause, please spread the word about Honor Flight!