32 NOVEMBER 2020 By Melissa Hirschl Despite the health and safety challenges facing Veterans Day activities, there are leaders in our community who have determined the “show must go on,” albeit with some adaptions. Here are a few organizations taking the lead in honoring our veterans on Wednesday, November 11. LIBERTY PERFORMANCE TRAINING QUALITY RESILIENCE FITNESS Liberty Performance Training is partnering with Quality Resilience Fitness to sponsor the QRF Buddy Team Drive to raise money for veterans’ mental health awareness. With a $20-$30 fee to enter, singles or groups can test their mettle as they move a loaded, weight-adjusted Husafel stone (used as a test of endurance for hundreds of years in Iceland) as far as possible within 20 minutes. The significance of the time is the sobering fact that every twenty minutes, a veteran commits suicide. Winners will receive a commemorative t-shirt. libertyperformancetraining.com ★ ★ CITY OF PHOENIX ★ ★ Honoring America’s Veterans will host a virtual Veterans Day event instead of the annual parade that has taken place for the past 23 years. The virtual celebration, dubbed “USA, A Beacon of Liberty,” will stream live on Honoring America’s Veterans’ YouTube and Facebook pages at 11 a.m. on November 11. They are also shifting the role of the traditional Veterans Grand Marshals to “Honor our Heroes” honorees, according to Executive Director Paula Pedene. The hour-long event will honor seven veterans from World War II to the present. Phoenix’s mayor will speak, and there will also be a band. “It will be a healing event,” Pedene said, “where we give thanks and gratitude to our veterans.” The organization is also sponsoring an essay competition for high school students throughout the Valley, with cash prizes for each grade. honoringamericasveterans.org ★ ★ CITY OF MESA ★ ★ For 13 years, the City of Mesa’s legendary Veterans Day parade has attracted around 20,000 spectators. With safety being the dominant concern this year, the parade will have a twist. “This year, attendees will actually ‘be the parade’ as they view static Veterans displays from the safety of their cars while driving along the parade route,” East Valley Parade Association President Lisa Sandoval said. The National Guard, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Affairs and other civic and community groups will be parked along the route with banners and displays. Five-ton trucks, helicopters, and a replica of the USS Arizona will also be on display. The band “To Serve” will be performing. “Our veterans’ service to the community doesn’t end when they take their uniform off,” Sandoval said. “They typically become first responders, health care professionals, teachers and even Scout leaders. That is why our theme this year is Celebrating Lives of Service.” Visit the East Valley Veterans Parade Facebook page or evvp.org ★ ★ CHRIST LUTHERAN SCHOOL ★ ★ CLS will be giving veterans lots of much-needed recognition this Veterans Day as well. Thanks to student brainstorming, the school will sponsor a drive-through parade in contrast to their annual Veterans Breakfast. “Preschoolers through 8th graders will be holding signs and balloons,” Community Outreach Coordinator Megan Gotshall said. Humvees from Luke Air Force Base will be displayed as well. In conjunction with the Packages from Home organization, students will decorate care package boxes and collect items to fill them. “The community is encouraged to donate money for postage or bring in non-perishable items for the boxes,” Gotshall said. The parade starts at 9:30 a.m. Cars should enter at 40th St. and Piccadilly Road. Contact Megan Gotshall at mgotshall@cclphoenix.org Veterans Day activities adapt to new reality By Rachael Bouley The Million Dollar Teacher Project is a Valley nonprofit that wants to see more support for teachers inside and outside the classroom. Since its inception in 2016, MDTP has helped around 3,000 teachers and 90,000 students in 16 school districts across the Phoenix metro area. The project recently celebrated its fourth anniversary and continues to work with schools to create community-driven initiatives. “We partner with schools to increase teacher recognition, drive more support directly into their classrooms and create innovative ways to impact how they are compensated,” Founder and Executive Director Lloyd Hopkins said. Hopkins looks forward to working with more schools in the Arcadia area. MDTP partnered with Pima Traditional School in the Scottsdale Unified School District through the Million Dollar Teacher Tree Initiative, which donated over $4,000 in school supplies to the school. The Teacher Tree Initiative is a classroom supply drive where teachers make a list of what they need for support. The list is then shared with the local community who can give back and help the teachers do more in the classroom. The first two years of the drive were done in partnership with Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall. This year it went virtual to keep the donations and teacher support strong throughout the pandemic. By planning easily accessible and cost- effective programs, Hopkins says that MDTP can significantly help the community. The Take a Teacher to Lunch program is made possible through partnerships with local restaurants and businesses. The program brings catered lunches to school campuses to provide a morale boost for teachers through a good meal. There’s also the One in a Million Teacher Series. Each month, a teacher who goes above and beyond gets recognized through MDTP social media with rewards like massages and dinner packages. MDTP also partners with community high schools and colleges to recruit teams of interns and volunteers to directly support teachers in the classroom, assisting with their workload through parent engagement, lesson planning, curriculum, classroom management and group or one-on-one work with students. “We also partner with businesses to offer meaningful discounts to educators on goods and services,” Hopkins said. “Teachers have an opportunity to retain more of their salary, and the community has the opportunity to highlight and support teachers and show that they appreciate them through these discounts.” The list of participating restaurants, gas stations and stores continues to grow as MDTP looks to raise awareness for teachers and the many challenges they face, such as low pay, out-of-pocket expenses, long hours and poor work-life balance. MDTP wants to see more support and celebration of the teaching profession, which will help current teachers and encourage others to pursue the pathway. “I think as a society, we forget how important the profession is,” Hopkins said. “If we think about it, teachers are the cornerstone of society, impacting all professions and aspects of our lives. For eight to nine months out of the year, teachers often spend more time with our kids than we do, and we are entrusting them to care for our students.” mdtproject.org Local nonprofit engages community support for educators The vision of the Million Dollar Teacher Project is to “create a world where every student is taught by a highly trained, qualified, understanding and engaged teacher.” PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MILLION DOLLAR TEACHER PROJECT Lloyd Hopkins ★ ★ ★ ★

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