We started a letter drive in mid-February to solicit letters of support from alumni, individuals and patriotic organizations to back our plan to have Seattle Public Schools (SPS) sell the development rights of the CHS Memorial Forest to the King County Parks Department (KCPD) –– the details of this plan have been documented several times in past newsletters, and you may read them on the CHSAA website (www.clevelandalumsea.org). These letters of support are addressed to the Seattle School Board but mailed to CHSAA so we can hand-deliver them en masse at a time that provides maximum impact for protecting the CHS Memorial Forest. The following reflects our results to date.
The American Legion provided a great response, with letters of support from four posts in King County, one from the Gig Harbor area, and another from California. We didn’t solicit money in our drive, but Bellevue Post #239 sent us a check to help pay for our mailing expenses.
The American Legion has two million members nationwide, with 21,000 in Washington State and 6,000 in King County. All of the American Legion posts that we solicited sent a letter of support.
- KIRKLAND POST #99
- KENT-MERIDIAN POST #685
- KENT POST #15
- BELLEVUE POST #239
- PENINSULA POST #236
- PRUNEDALE, CA POST #593
Similarly, we received a great response from the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The VFW has 475,000 members across the nation, with 24,000 in Washington State, and 7,000 in King County. We only had the address of two posts, but they responded favorably with letters of support:
- Renton Post #1263
- Kent-Meridian Post #6785
According to Commander Craig Dougherty of the VFW, there are 550,000 military veterans in Washington State. It is hard to imagine a single one of them not being in favor of supporting the CHS Memorial Forest. More than 160,000 of those veterans (30%) live in King County.
The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) sent in a letter of support. The DAR has 180,000 members, with 2,360 in Washington State and 600 members in King County. The president of their Bellevue chapter, Lanabeth Horgen, is enthusiastic about the memorial forest and wants to participate in our next annual ceremony.
The Marine Corps League provided a letter of support for the CHS Memorial Forest. They represent 65,000 members overall, with 600 in Washington State and 43 in King County.
The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War in Lancaster, Massachusetts, offer their full support. They have 6,200 members at the national level.
We Need Your Support
Download a letter of support, sign, and mail it to the address on the form. We will mail it with all the other letters we receive at a time that provides maximum impact for protecting our Memorial Forest.
Read more about the Memorial Forest
NOTE: Our request-for-support campaign has been hampered by the coronavirus pandemic. Many organizations we tried to contact were shut down or not responsive.
