Flossmoor Veterans’ Memorial Aims To Raise $5K On Giving Tuesday, Debuts Historic Insulators For Sale

FLOSSMOOR, IL — Flossmoor Veterans’ Memorial, Inc. (FVM) is targeting a $5,000 Giving Tuesday fundraising goal December 2 with its debut of 50 limited-edition telegraph pole insulators recovered from the site of the Veterans’ Wall of Honor.

First created in 2012 in New York City as a local philanthropic effort, Giving Tuesday is now an independent, nonprofit global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people each year to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. FVM’s online donation site allows people to make a secured Giving Tuesday gift in support of the Veterans’ Wall of Honor.

New for 2025 is the debut of limited-edition telegraph insulators, etched with the FVM logo and packaged in a keepsake box with a Certificate of Authenticity. These insulators were retrieved by Flossmoor Public Works Department during the removal of three telegraph poles from the site of the Veterans’ Wall of Honor.

This location is the original home of Flossmoor’s 1900s-era Bunker Hills Coaling Station. The original station on the east side of the present-day Metra/CN tracks housed three telegraph poles used for communication transmissions along the railway line. These 1900s-era glass telegraph insulators connected electrical lines to telegraph poles and prevented the loss of electrical current along the railroad line. FVM’s Giving Tuesday partner, Meraki Customade, has cleaned, numbered, and etched each Hemingray brand insulator with the distinctive FVM logo.

Retired Flossmoor Mayor Paul Braun, who serves as FVM’s president, said, “In addition to generating funds for the construction of the Veterans’ Wall of Honor this year, FVM is also focused on preserving Flossmoor veterans’ stories. The Veterans’ Wall of Honor site has long been a community gathering place, even back to the early commuters who exited the Bunker Hills Coaling Station. Preserving these historic relics and having our partners at Meraki Customade restore the telegraph pole insulators so beautifully enhances our Giving Tuesday efforts this year.”

Only 50 insulators have survived and are available for a $50 tax-deductible donation per insulator. Each insulator comes with a Certificate of Authenticity and is gift boxed for holiday giving. FVM will also continue to offer engraved commemorative paver bricks that can recognize a veteran’s military service. The 4” x 8” pavers are available for a $125 donation and will be installed in the Wall of Honor donor plaza.

Other Giving Tuesday gift book premiums include Fragments of Flossmoor: A Series of Essays on the Interesting, Curious, and Unique in Our Village, the Historic Flossmoor Sites coloring book, and Richard Haas Murals in Homewood, Illinois. FVM also offers Hanes crewneck unisex sweatshirts and limited edition challenge coins as thank you premiums. All donations benefit FVM, an Illinois 501(c)(3) corporation.

Fundraising updates will be posted during Giving Tuesday with the hashtag #joinforcesforflossmoor. For more information, or to support FVM’s December 2 Giving Tuesday effort, visit @honoringflossmoorvets on Facebook, @FlossmoorVWH on Instagram/X, https://flossmoorvets.square.site on the web, or flossmoorvets@gmail.com via e-mail. To see Meraki Customade’s photo gallery, visit https://www.merakicustomade.com.