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‘Operation Pizza’ comes to fruition

| 24 Nov 2015 | 12:19
    Teary-eyed VFW Post Commander Jim Davis stands beside Christopher Ploch as he holds PlochþÄôs symbolic check for $5,200. The check represents the proceeds of PlochþÄôs successful þÄúOperation PizzaþÄù fundraising drive.
    Teary-eyed VFW Post Commander Jim Davis stands beside Christopher Ploch as he holds PlochþÄôs symbolic check for $5,200. The check represents the proceeds of PlochþÄôs successful þÄúOperation PizzaþÄù fundraising drive.
    Post Commander Jim Davis asks his fellow veterans about whether the symbolic check would be suitable to mount near the VFWþÄôs front door.
    Post Commander Jim Davis asks his fellow veterans about whether the symbolic check would be suitable to mount near the VFWþÄôs front door.

VERNON — On Saturday afternoon, just before sunset, Scenic Lakes resident Christopher Ploch, 16, arrived with his family at the Wallkill Valley VFW Memorial Post 8441 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Ploch delivered the proceeds of his “Operation Pizza” fundraising drive. The $5,200 check was the result of his initiative to aid the VFW. Two local pizzerias, Paesano Pizza and Pizza Pros, helped with a special Veterans Day “Buy a Pizza, Help a Veteran” campaign, in which 10 percent of proceeds from orders that day were to be donated to the Vernon VFW.

According to Ploch, the pizzerias collected a total of $610 that day, an additional $4,200 was collected through a GoFundMe account, and the balance was comprised of individual donations to help the VFW pay its Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority’s sewer hookup bill.

Ploch is the Junior Class Vice President at Vernon Township High School and President of the Vernon Police Athletic League's Youth Leadership Club. Ploch is also considering becoming a veteran himself and hopes to attend the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis.

— Photos by Chris Wyman