DGN and DGS are working to raise $50,000 to install Memorial Peace Gardens on both campuses. These memorials will honor the 70 veterans that have graduated from District 99 and have fallen, 69 from DGN since it opened in 1928 and one from DGS since it’s opening in 1964.

“It’s a concept that is about finding a more permanent way to recognize the sacrifices of graduates from our community who went into service,” DGN project head and social studies department chairperson Jenne Dehmlow said.

The installations will include plants, flowers, benches, memorial poles with the phrase “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in sixteen languages and stones engraved with the name of the 70 deceased D99 veterans.

As of Jan. 22, the total amount raised by both schools is $4,537.58, leaving $45,462.42 to be raised. If the money is raised in time, construction will begin mid-May and on Memorial Day there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony dedicating the finished gardens.

This year, DGN will use the money that it raises from the annual Spring into Action fundraiser, from March 14-19, to help bring the district to its goal of $50,000. Last year, $10,000 was raised in one week for Honor Flight Chicago through activities such as penny wars and a dance marathon. This year, the goal is for Spring into Action to raise as much as last year, if not more. Spring into Action activities will include a lip sync battle, a dodgeball tournament, a Winter Fest Last Hurrah and a District 99 telethon.

Other clubs and organizations are also working to help raise money for the gardens. The DGN Speech Team donated $386, which they raised from their annual Speech Cafe. The $386 will account for 0.772 % of the total amount needed.

“Truthfully, I am not allowing myself to even consider that [the money will not be raised] as a possibility. The whole team believes in this community and the garden project,” Dehmlow said.

Grant and Power Landscaping Inc. will donate all of the plants, flowers, labor and designs necessary for the installations. Each year Grant and Power Landscaping sponsors one local philanthropic project; sponsoring the D99 project lowers the cost of the gardens by $25,000.

Any future maintenance will be done by students donating their time through service learning projects, alongside various staff members.

At DGN, the garden will be housed in the Forest St. circle; at DGS the garden will be outside the West events entrance next to the mustang statue, and will be slightly larger in square footage. DGN also considered putting the installation near the Main St. entrance near the handicapped entrance ramp. The final locations were determined by both project heads, administration and a representative from Grant and Power Landscaping.

“The Forest Street Circle location was selected because it was a more intimate space that could be ‘experienced’, meaning during off-peak driving hours, students, staff and community members can walk into the space and be in a quieter surrounding. The smaller size allows for greater visual impact,” Dehmlow said.

The purpose of the gardens is to not only honor veterans but also to encourage students to keep peace.

“War is a result of utter failure. The peace gardens have two main purposes, to memorialize alumni and to teach the importance of peace,” DGS project head and social studies chairperson Chris Esposito said.

In 2006 and 2007 DGN lost two graduates who both fought in the Iraq war; Marine Cpl. Joseph E. Stevenson III, class of 2005, and Marine Sgt. Tommy Gilbert, class of 2000.
“When a parent loses a child, one of the major concerns is that the child might be forgotten by others. Having his name memorialized in the gardens is one way that we can be reassured that Joe’s memory will live on,” Joseph Stevenson’s mother, Barb Stevenson, said.