CONTACT: Kathi Schue, (717) 783-0411

HARRISBURG, May 21 - Fifth-grade students at Herbert Hoover Elementary School in Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County, have made good on their pledge to raise $4,000 to preserve the Pennsylvania monuments at Gettysburg.

In a ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 23 at the outdoor amphitheater of the Cyclorama Building at the Gettysburg National Military Park, the students will present two checks totaling $4,000 to the Pennsylvania Gettysburg Monuments Project spearheaded by state Rep. Harry Readshaw, D-Allegheny.

The money will be placed into perpetual endowment trusts for the future maintenance of three Pennsylvania monuments.

One group of students raised $1,000 for the monument on Little Round Top that marks where Col. Strong Vincent of Erie was mortally wounded during the Union defense of the rocky hilltop on the second day of the three-day engagement in July 1863.

A second group of Herbert Hoover students raised $3,000 to endow two monuments honoring the 28th and 29th regiments of Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in helping hold Culp's Hill from repeated Confederate assaults.

The goal of the Monument Challenge is to restore and preserve the 147 Pennsylvania monuments and markers on the Adams County battlefield. The challenge is endorsed by the Pennsylvania State Education Association, and Herbert Hoover is one of several schools from across the Commonwealth to take part.

Most of the money raised by students was collected as pledges for a "Walk for the Monuments" (click here for the related story) around City Island in Harrisburg in April. The top five fundraisers were:

• Paige Hisiro, $791
• Emily Nilson, $232.50
• Kristen Packer, $201
• Michael Marsco, $200
• Jason Machamer, $190

Readshaw commended the students and their teachers, Christine Furjanic, Debra Goodrich and Vanessa Edwards, for their commitment to this project and to the goal of preserving the monuments to the Pennsylvanians who stood their ground at Gettysburg for the Union and the Commonwealth. "Not only has it been an educational experience for them, it gives each student a personal connection to the park and the monuments," Readshaw said. "Each can proudly tell their children and grandchildren they personally helped to keep these monuments standing and the legacy of the Pennsylvanians at Gettysburg alive."