WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — If you drive down Via Bella Street in Williamsport, you're bound to see Hometown Hero banners lining the road.
"Support our veterans, living and deceased. We are proud of them, and I am sure their families and employers are proud of them, and it gives us an opportunity to put their banners up on the local city streets of Williamsport," said Mike McMunn, director of veterans affairs.
Each banner costs $210. According to the Lycoming County Office of Veterans Affairs, banner requests have been decreasing each year. The VA says the economy has affected the banner sales.
"The economy has really taken a toll, inflation. That $210 can go for a tank of gas or groceries, sadly."
What folks don't know is that each Hometown Hero banner helps veterans in need. The proceeds go to a veteran experiencing tough times.
"All of a sudden, they can't pay the water bill, can't pay the electric bill, car broke down, or they need some groceries. That money goes back to those veterans."
The banners are hung in Williamsport every November and displayed for a year. The veterans will then get to keep the banners when they are taken down. Anyone throughout the county or country can sponsor a veteran with ties to the area.
"If somebody is now living in Denver, Colorado, and they want to have their father's banner up here, then we are more than happy to put it up," said McMunn.
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