By Chelsea Meyer
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — More than 15,000 flowers will be planted next weekend at North Main and Auburn streets as part of a neighborhood group’s ongoing effort to show appreciation to veterans.

This is the fifth year of the volunteer Veterans Memorial Circle beautification project, which was undertaken by west-side residents when the city couldn’t keep pace with the upkeep of the colorful flowers at the intersection. The Friends of Veterans Memorial Circle was born out of a committee of the Churchill’s Grove Neighborhood Association in 2019, but it has support from residents across the city including Signal Hill, North End Square and Edgewater neighborhoods.

“We make sure every veteran knows this is all done for them,” said Army veteran Ernie Redfern, who co-chairs the group with his wife, Helen Karakoudas Redfern. “It really is 100% focused on appreciation for veterans and their families.”

Related: Nonprofit that keeps Rockford roundabout blooming faces financial debt

Karakoudas Redfern said a recent U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs report on preventing veteran suicide said that small things community members do to show care can make a difference for veterans who are struggling. Suicide prevention coordinators from the local VA office were among the earliest volunteers for the project, and they provide resources for veterans and their families at every annual planting.

“Every year, we plant more and more flowers. Last year, we planted just under 15,000,” Redfern said. “The circle itself takes a little over 3,000 petunias, just in that circle.”

Karakoudas Redfern said when it comes to volunteers, they need a little more than 150 to get the job done in one day. The annual planting day starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 20, and it is expected to wrap up around 3:30 p.m.

“It’s an annual effort with a perennial commitment,” Karakoudas Redfern said.

The group doesn’t accept any tax money for the project. All flowers and necessities for the volunteers are purchased with money raised from donors in the community. It costs an estimated $9,400 for the beatification project.

(story continues below photos)

Photos: Friends of Veterans Memorial Circle to plant thousands of flowers

  • Volunteers with Veterans Memorial Circle keep the roundabout at North Main and Auburn streets decorated with flowers. It’s pictured May 12, 2022, before the annual planting. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

     

  • More than 15,000 flowers will be planted Saturday, May 20, 2023, at Veterans Memorial Circle at the intersection of North Main and Auburn streets in Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

     

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  • More than 15,000 flowers will be planted Saturday, May 20, 2023, at Veterans Memorial Circle at the intersection of North Main and Auburn streets in Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

     

  • Volunteers with Veterans Memorial Circle keep the roundabout at North Main and Auburn streets decorated with flowers. It’s pictured May 12, 2022, before the annual planting. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

     

  • Ernie Redfern, co-chair of the Friends of Veterans Memorial Circle, cleans up hub caps and other debris from the intersection of North Main and Auburn streets in Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

     

Flowers in the project cover more than 6,500 square feet and stretch across almost 1.7 miles, including:

  • The circular bed around the flag
  • Fronts, backs of four monument walls
  • Four end caps
  • Medians on North Main Street (north and south of roundabout)
  • A long bed in front of Greenwood Cemetery (on Auburn Street)
  • All the raised beds in front of the businesses on North Main Street
  • Beds around the city parking lot at the SE quadrant of the roundabout
  • 25 sidewalk plots on the Auburn Street corridor from the Rock River, individually adopted.

Source: Friends of Veterans Memorial Circle

How to help

You can donate to the project at rockfordveteranscircle.org/donate or you can volunteer to help plant on Saturday. Questions can be directed to the Friends of Veterans Memorial Circle by contacting them here.

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