RBHS Hosts Annual Military Appreciation Game
On Friday, September 8, Riverside Brookfield held their annual Military Appreciation Football Game in honor of those who have served our country. The ceremony began with the Riverside and Brookfield Fire Departments raising the American flag at each end of their fire ladders. The RBHS Marching Band performed a variety of patriotic songs before the recognition ceremony, where they played the anthems for each U.S. Military Branch. Members of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard, and Air Force stepped forward as their branches were called. A moment of silence was held for those who lost their lives 22 years ago on September 11, 2001.
Sandy Czajka, computer science teacher at RBHS, organizes the donations and t-shirts for this event. “Back in 2014, the former football coach came to me and said he wanted to discuss options to get the football team involved with some form of giving back, and he was thinking about something with the military,” said Czajka. “I was super excited when he asked me about it because our Veterans Day Ceremony has been around longer than I’ve been here, and that was one of my favorite things from when I first started at RB.”
The money raised in the week leading up to the ceremony was donated to Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital. They are the largest VA Hospital in the state of Illinois and treat more than 44,000 veterans a year. “It’s not just about the dollars collected, it’s about the way they feel appreciated and that they haven’t been forgotten,” said Czajka.
RBHS will hold a Veterans Day Ceremony in November. More information about the ceremony to come.
