SOUTH HADLEY — The Holyoke Rotary Club will give South Hadley residents a chance to honor their personal heroes during its Flags for Heroes fundraiser from May 17 to July 5 on the South Hadley Commons.

In between Memorial Day and Independence Day, residents can donate $50 to receive a medallion engraved with the name of a hero. The medallion will hang on the same flagpole as a 3-by-7-foot American flag.

“It is an opportunity for people to honor somebody who is their their hero,” Holyoke Rotary Club President Barbra Baran said during Tuesday’s Select Board Meeting. “Whether it be a veteran or … a fireman, a police officer, and anybody who could possibly be considered a hero, including their own personal hero.”

The Holyoke Rotary Club is a local chapter of Rotary International, one of the largest service organizations in the world. The club serves Holyoke, Granby and South Hadley through volunteer work and scholarship programs. The organization also finances clean water projects in Central America.

The flags are installed with the help of Mountain View Landscapes and Lawncare and set up in rows. Baran said she hopes to recruit some members of the South Hadley Cub Scouts and high school student volunteers to help put up the flags. 

“May 17 is, what we call at the Rotary, our epic day of service,” Baran said. “We are planning on having a group of people come to help place the flags there, and we want to also encourage members of the South Hadley community to help too.”

The fundraiser is the beginning of the club’s further expansion into South Hadley, Baran said. The club hopes to present two Rotary Youth Leadership Awards to Holyoke, South Hadley and Granby students.

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