15-year-old Elizabeth Carmichael raises more than $1,200 for program dear to her heart.
American Legion Auxiliary Junior member Elizabeth Carmichael hoped to raise $300 during her March 29 fundraiser to promote The American Legion’s Be the One veteran suicide prevention program.
But the 15-year-old member of Unit 716 in in Los Alamitos, Calif., blew past that goal.
Carmichael’s fundraiser has raised more than $1,200 for Be the One, a cause that is special for someone who has been active in The American Legion Family for years.
“It was a shock,” Elizabeth said. “I knew we that we were most likely going to break my goal of $300. I thought the max we would make would be like $700. The event was really good in itself. A lot of people showed up. It was just a really good turnout all together.”
The fundraiser took place at American Legion Post 833 in Long Beach – where her mother Amanda serves as manager and her father is a member of the Sons of The American Legion squadron – and also drew Legion Family members from Post 134 in Paramount and Post 496 in Long Beach. The event included lunch and opportunity basket drawings, as well as live music. Elizabeth also delivered remarks about the Be the One mission.
In those remarks, Elizabeth said, “The Legion is prioritizing this goal especially within these hard times, not only to focus on our veterans mental health, but to reassure them and everyone involved within the Legion that ‘it is OK to not be OK.’ I have made it not only my mission … but as my passion project to take part in the cause with helping veterans mental health as well.
“I have grown up around so many of these veterans, and each and every one of them holds a special place in my heart. And I care dearly about each and every one of them. And to those veterans, if nobody told you today, thank you for your service.”
Elizabeth said the response to her fundraiser from members of the Legion Family “shows that for 100 years The American Legion hasn’t changed its views. The American Legion was formed because the soldiers from World War I had no place to talk about their feelings or to connect to each other. The American Legion was created for those veterans … to share their experiences together and feel no judgment. I feel like they really have stuck to that cause, where veterans feel welcome and are in a safe space.”
Amanda said as proud as she was of her daughter, she also took joy in seeing how fellow Legion Family members viewed the effort. “When you have a Junior (Auxiliary member), those juniors become like community property to other (Legion Family members),” she said. “Seeing how proud they were of her, knowing that they have helped along the way … it’s like a village. Everybody played a part. Seeing how proud she made them, it was a really good feeling.”
- Be the One