Four Pillars. One Project.

Americanism • Veterans • Community • Youth

Middleburg American Legion Post 295 is proud to support Ilaria Kapoor, one of our American Legion Auxiliary Girls State delegates, in her effort to create a permanent Veterans Memorial Board at Lightridge High School in Aldie, Virginia.

Ilaria's vision is to create a lasting place of honor for the students, alumni, faculty, staff, and family members of the Lightridge community who have served in the United States Armed Forces.

This is more than a school project. It is a student-led effort to ensure that the service of veterans in her community is recognized, remembered, and passed on to future generations.

For Middleburg American Legion Post 295, it also brings together the four pillars at the heart of our mission: Americanism, Veterans, Community, and Youth.

A Memorial Built to Last

The Lightridge Veterans Memorial will be a permanent metal installation featuring a Roman-arch design and individually engraved name placards recognizing veterans connected to the Lightridge High School community.

The memorial is designed to grow with the school. Additional names can be added over time, allowing future generations of veterans and military families to become part of its history.

Imagine a student walking through the school and finding the name of a parent or grandparent who served. Imagine a teacher, staff member, or veteran finding their own name.

Future generations of students will see that military service isn't something confined to a history book. It is part of the story of their own families and community.

Americanism

For Post 295, Americanism means more than patriotism. It means understanding our nation's institutions, embracing the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, honoring those who defended those rights, and putting civic knowledge into action.

As one of Post 295's American Legion Auxiliary Girls State delegates, Ilaria successfully completed an immersive, experiential program in government, citizenship, and leadership. She is now applying those lessons in her own community - identifying a need, navigating the public approval process, building partnerships, and leading an effort to create something of lasting public value.

That is Americanism in action: civic knowledge becoming civic responsibility, and civic responsibility becoming service.

Veterans

At its heart, this project honors those who served.

The memorial will permanently recognize veterans connected to the Lightridge community and ensure their service remains part of the school's history long after individual students graduate.

For Post 295, honoring veterans also means ensuring that their service is remembered and that their example continues to have meaning for the generations that follow them.

Community

Lightridge High School's designation as a Purple Star School reflects its commitment to military-connected students and families. This memorial will make that commitment visible and permanent.

The community is already coming together behind Ilaria's vision. The project has been approved through Loudoun County Public Schools, professional fabrication specifications and pricing have been developed, and Howard Shockey & Sons has generously committed to donating the installation labor.

Now we are asking individuals, families, businesses, veterans organizations, and civic groups throughout our community to help finish what Ilaria started.

Youth

Perhaps the most meaningful part of this project is that it began with a student.

Programs such as Girls State represent an investment in the next generation of American leaders. Ilaria is demonstrating what can happen when that investment is paired with initiative: a young person takes what she has learned about leadership, citizenship, and service and uses it to make a lasting contribution to her community.

For Post 295, that is what investing in youth is ultimately about.

We don't simply want young people to learn about citizenship and service. We want to give them the opportunity to practice it.

Help Us Raise $6,315

The project is approved and ready to move forward. Our $6,315 fundraising goal will cover the design, fabrication, engraving, mounting, and initial set of veteran name placards.

The target is to install the memorial during the 2026–27 school year.

Middleburg American Legion Post 295 is supporting this campaign through our affiliated nonprofit, Middleburg Veterans Educational and Charitable Endeavors, Inc. (MVEC), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization (30-1425840).

Contributions made through this campaign will support the Lightridge Veterans Memorial project through MVEC and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Every contribution matters. Whether it is $10, $25, $50, $100, $500, or more, each gift moves Ilaria closer to seeing this memorial become a permanent part of her school.

Businesses, veterans organizations, civic groups, and community partners are also encouraged to participate.

Help Ilaria Leave a Legacy

There is something fitting about a Girls State delegate taking the lessons of citizenship and leadership and putting them into practice by creating something dedicated to those who served before her.

A young citizen putting civic responsibility into action.

A community coming together.

A permanent tribute to our veterans.

Americanism • Veterans • Community • Youth

Four Pillars. One Project.

Please donate, share this campaign, and help us make the Lightridge High School Veterans Memorial a reality.

Help Build the Lightridge High School Veterans Memorial

A Girls State delegate's student-led mission to honor veterans and leave a lasting legacy in her community.