Mayfair-based Art History 101 donated the money to the planned Pennsylvania Global War on Terrorism Memorial.
Jay Pross, owner of Mayfair-based Art History 101, last week donated $10,000 to the planned Pennsylvania Global War on Terrorism Memorial.
Pross worked with his friend, Tim Wynn, on the project.
Wynn is a former Marine who fought in the war in Iraq, including the 2003 invasion. He is now a mentor coordinator for Philadelphia Veterans Court and a board member of the proposed memorial.
Dave Henderson, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is executive director of the nonprofit Pennsylvania GWOT Memorial, which is planned alongside the existing monuments for local soldiers lost in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
There have been 288 Pennsylvanians killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars since 2001.
Art History 101 is at 7045 Frankford Ave. Pross sold GWOT memorial T-shirts for $20, with $10 going to the monument fund. The store opened on Sundays to spur sales.
“It was a group effort. We can’t thank the community enough,” Wynn said.
So far, $31,000 has been raised toward a goal of $250,000. A beef-and-beer fundraiser is tentatively planned for March 10. City Councilmen Mark Squilla and David Oh and the building trades have provided assistance.
“I’m just playing my part,” Pross said. “This is the most special project I’ve ever done.”
Wynn thanked Pross and T-shirt designer Adam Elliott.
“He absolutely hit a home run,” Wynn said of Elliott, who designed a black shirt with some red, white and blue in the shape of Pennsylvania.
Among those attending the check presentation were members of the Warriors Watch, a bikers group that supports the troops, and Gold Star father Charlie Strange, whose son Michael was killed in Afghanistan in 2011.
“It’s an honor that these guys are remembering. People do care,” Strange said. “It helps. The price of freedom is not free.”
Municipal Court Judge Pat Dugan is a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and serves as a GWOT Memorial board adviser and design committee member.
“We’re determined. We’re going to build this monument.”
For more information, visit https://www.gwotmemorial.org/ ••
