What to Know
- 52,850 wreaths need to be picked up this year
- Items to bring: work gloves, broomsticks, water and gardening wagons to move to the wreaths to the street for pickup
- Also needed: trucks and trailers to haul wreaths to the dumpster on the south side of the administration building
Generous North Texans came through with enough donations to make sure every headstone at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery had a wreath for the holidays, but now it's time to clean up.
Wreaths Across America says it needs volunteers to help pick up the more than 52,000 wreaths.
In 2021, it took two and a half hours to clear 39,000 wreaths -- the more volunteers, the faster it goes.
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Wreath removal begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024.
Volunteers are asked to bring water to stay hydrated, work gloves and a broomstick (without the broom).
The stick is used to pick up wreaths as you walk down each row of headstones.
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Wreaths are stacked neatly at the end of the row and anyone with a garden wagon can help move the wreaths to the edge of the street.
Volunteers with pickup and trailers are also needed. They will load up the wreaths and take them to the dumpster on the south side of the administration building.
Volunteers can start wreath removal in any section, and can return to sections where they laid wreaths.
This year to coincide with the wreath removal, DFW National Cemetery is also hosting its annual food drive to support local communities.
Non-perishable items needed include -- canned juice, canned meats, cereal, canned pork and beans, canned spaghetti, canned fruits and vegetables, dried beans, macaroni and cheese, pasta, peanut butter, powdered milk, soup, tuna and rice. Diapers are also needed. Donations will be collected at the front gate.
