Honoring Our Fallen Veterans & Loved Ones For Memorial Day

4th Annual Cemetery Clean Up - May 19 - 21

This year we would like to continue to pay tribute to them and focus on our fallen veterans and loved ones. We do this by hosting cemetery cleanups with our municipalities. Teams will either be given a map that highlights the plots of fallen veterans or taught how to identify veteran headstones and the proper tools to clean off headstones and their surrounding area. Later, the second wave of volunteers will come and place flags at the freshly cleared gravesites. 

Over 200 volunteers have helped us clean headstones over the last 3 years at Egelston, Mona View, Laketon, Sullivan, Whitehall, and Evergreen (City of Muskegon). This year we are excited to offer this opportunity to not only companies but to families as well by offering a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday opportunity!  

How It Works: 

Sign Ups:

Companies and volunteers sign up using the links below. 

Companies: Please let us know how many individuals you are hoping to volunteer, location preferences (these are not guaranteed), preferred time (adjustable for teams), and contact information. 

Individuals: When you sign up (after you have created a GetConnected Profile), please select a pre-determined shift you would like. These times are non-adjustable, but if you are running behind or need to leave early, just let us know in the comments. We will be placing you where you are needed most! If you do have a preference for a region, let us know in the notes section when you sign up! 

Time Commitment: 

Typically, it will take a team an estimated 2 hours to clean a cemetery. Larger cemeteries have multiple teams while our smaller cemeteries may have 1 team (or a shorter volunteer time). Between travel, orientation, volunteering and wrap-up, teams can expect about 2.5 hours of work in total. 

Team Leads: Team leaders will meet prior to the clean-up with a United Way representative to go over the project. This meeting takes place at the location and will be about 30 - 40 minutes. This time combined with the volunteer project time and follow-up (20 minutes) makes about 3.5 total hours of work. 

Locations: 

Locations are determined by the size of the team, how long it has been since a cemetery has had a headstone cleaning, and location preference by the company (if applicable). We try our best to serve as many different cemeteries and communities in our county. Some cemeteries are historical or have other restrictions depending on the township, city, or village. 

Sponsorship Opportunities:

If you are interested in sponsoring this event, please contact our Community Engagement Director, Dominique Bunker, at dominique@unitedwaylakeshore.org or by calling (231) 332-4006 .