WHAT IS OPERATION WELCOME HOME?

HOW CAN I HELP?

Operation Welcome Home is simply the celebration by community groups and individuals of service members returning home from their tour of duty. The Lafayette Flag Brigade is proud to be part of these Welcome Home celebrations which also honor the families of our service men and women.

Our first celebration was in Moraga on Christmas Eve 2005, when we were asked by a Blue Star Mom to present our commemorative 9/11 flag to each of six returning service members from Moraga. Each flag was tied with a silk gold ribbon and stuffed with our own postcards of thanks, filled out from those in attendance.This was the first Welcome Home flag presentation, but not the last!

Since our first Operation Welcome Home, we have teamed up with many other groups, including various veteran's groups and local support groups. Some of these include the Blue Star Mom's local chapters, Pleasanton Military Families, and the Patriot Guard Riders.(PGR). The PGR riders provide the motorcycle escort service from the airport to the families home. All other groups provide whatever is needed to make the celebration a success. Our group installs the large flag that is used in all photo backdrops. We also provide the audio system and sound man for the larger Welcome Home celebrations.

To date we haven presented over 130 flags with most those handed out in 2008. We have distributed hundreds of our 9/11 picture postcards and have purchased many yards of silk ribbon. Our presentation flags are 3'x5' American made Valley Forge, purchased locally at near cost. Our printer who silkscreens our "Never Forget 9-11-01", gives us a 65% discount. Our silk ribbon is also sold at near cost, and our postcards are also reproduced in a cost effective way. The total cost of each presentation flag, including ribbon and postcards (30 to 50) is between $18-$20.

Since we rely totally on private donations, we are looking to individuals like yourself who would like to help. We have funded most of the costs ourselves, but we are serving more service members each year, at a substantial increase in cost. We would appreciate any donation, large or small. See below for donation details.

To see a short (1 minute) actual presentation to a returning service person, please click here (Note that the video of the presentation may take 1 or 2 minutes to download.)

Special Thanks to:

Lafayette Ace Hardware for 3x5 flags discount
Richards Crafts, Alamo for silk ribbon discount
Sports for All, Concord , Silksreening discount
Contra Costa Blue Star Mom's for donations
Pleasanton Families for the Military for donations
Clients of Bryan Welden Painting for donations

If you would like to make a donation to assist in the purchase of flags,
please contact us by email
or call (925) 212-9260