Pictured, from left, are Cody Blaisdell, Jack Shea, Stephen Cybart, Justin Stewart and Sandi Ferringer at the Lakewood Tim Hortons Purple Heart Day event held on Aug. 7. Submitted photo

LAKEWOOD — An intern at Tim Hortons’s Lakewood location recently came up with a way for the local community to honor Purple Heart veterans.

Jack Shea, a recent graduate of Falconer High School, said he likes to be involved in the community. Coming up with the Purple Heart Day event is an example of that.

Shea came up with the idea because beginning on July 31, part of his job as the intern was to create a calendar of holidays throughout the year.

“The purpose was to make sure everyone in the office knew when a holiday that could connect with Tim Hortons came up, like National Donut Day or National Coffee Day,” Shea said. “While I was creating the calendar, I came across Purple Heart Day on Aug. 7.”

Shea said recognizing veterans and active duty personnel who put their lives on the line to protect the country and the freedoms that America has is important. The event was a chance to give Purple Heart veterans some recognition, and though he had short notice he was glad to be able to do it.

Shea expressed gratitude for those above him in the ranks that allowed him to run with the idea.

“I would really like to thank the Tarana Family at Tim Hortons for giving me, the intern, the green light to put this on,” he said. “When I pitched this idea to them, they were very excited about it and were really pushing me to go ahead with it. They kept in touch with me throughout the week and helped me where I needed it. They were glad to allow me to take charge and put on this event to gain experience in putting on something like this.”

Purple Heart Day is a national holiday, but the event was only held at the Lakewood Tim Hortons. The event on Aug. 7 began at 11 a.m., and the Lakewood store hosted a Purple Heart Ceremony, offering a free meal and coffee. Past County Commander Stephen Cybart was also in attendance on the day, and while Shea said Cybart is not a Purple Heart veteran himself, he talked to them about the grit and valor it takes to be one.

For Shea, part of holding the event was working to create awareness of the day.

“Purple Heart Day is an important day because it gives us a chance to recognize and honor our veterans who made a sacrifice to protect our freedoms and values that we cherish here in America,” Shea said. “I feel that Purple Heart Day is a day that not many people know about, and I wanted to create awareness. I knew I had to do something to give back to our vets who bravely served our country. Purple Hearts are a prestigious award. They are given to soldiers who are killed or wounded in war. Anyone who does that on behalf of our nation needs to be honored.”

In the future, Shea hopes Purple Heart Day can become a more recognized day across the country.

“I believe it’s great for the community to see that people are looking out for our vets and I also believe that it’s great that our vets see that we are looking out for them,” Shea said. “We care and appreciate everything they have done for us. Even though this was a small token of appreciation it felt really good to give back. I believe because we did this locally that it impacts our local community and brings people together.”