Yvonne Wan, a local social cultural anthropologist, is trying to bring back the VFW’s “Red Shirt Fridays” in a big way.

Wan has been working with local VFW Post 7507, working as a volunteer and marketing consultant to bring some of the club’s tech and services up to speed.

“I have redesigned and rebranded their website and organized a charity photoshoot to promote patriotism and the sale of VFW Red Shirts to support local troops,” Wan said. “The red symbolizes the blood that American veterans have sacrificed for our freedom. Honor the dead by helping the living.”

Wan said the idea of the recent community campaign was to involve locals by having them model the shirts. This included Senior Pastor Tony Pierce of the First Baptist Church of Fountain Hills, Traci Goure of Fabulous Rehabs, Michael John Cook of Tidy Guys, Matt Hinds of the Blue Ribbon Army and Tara Nicol, a local student. Also offering assistance with the project were The Sparkle Bar, who Wan tapped for professional makeup services.

The photoshoot has been turned into a scrolling advertisement for the shirts at the recently remodeled website, vfwpost7507.org.

“The new photoshoot has an American cowboy theme to promote patriotism,” Wan said. “I selected McDowell Mountain Regional Park and also some desert land behind First Baptist Church of Fountain Hills as a location for shooting. Both locations featured strong wild west features such as Sonoran desert land, epic mountains and saguaro cactus.”

Wan said the American flag is featured heavily in the photoshoot to add to the “symbolic, powerful and meaningful feel to the campaign.”

“All proceeds from the sale of Red shirts will go towards the veterans who have served their country at the VFW Post 7507 in Fountain Hills,” Wan continued. “Proceeds will go towards improving the welfare of our local veterans, such as helping veterans with mobility issues, ensuring veterans have a place to socialize and training veterans on how to use computer technology to enrich their lives.

“The shirts are designed for our community members and also veterans.”

For more information on the shirts, including prices and ordering methods, visit vfwpost7507.org and click on the “Merchandise” page. That’s where you’ll also see a scrolling collection of the photos Wan and her volunteer models contributed to the cause.

For those who already have, or will soon have, the Red Shirts, the VFW reminds everyone to wear them proudly on Fridays as a sign of solidarity and support for the soldiers who are no longer with us.