As you may have seen on our social media, there are multiple posts, tweets, and pictures of our agents encouraging you to wear red each Friday. We do this with clothing ranging from plain red shirts to our branded red Flag Day t-shirts. We even have a few employees who have come in with American flag scarves, dresses and shoes! Here at our office we love red Friday, because it is an acronym that stands for “Remember Everyone Deployed,” which allows us to think of those who are sacrificing their lives for our freedom.
Paradiso Insurance proudly supports the sacrifices each and every one of our military members make, which is why we strive to do this in remembrance of our troops and all that they do for us and our country. Our insurance agency makes it known that we stand behind the men and women who fight for our freedom and our safety.
While all of us get excited for Fridays and weekends, it’s important to remember that not everyone gets to come home, relax, and see their families. Some deployed may not even see their loved ones for many months on end. These men and women never get a day off and always work through the holidays. We forget that these men and women are on call all the time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks per year, to make sure each and every one of us is safe. This is just the beginning of why we at Paradiso Insurance feel that wearing red is so important. Wearing this vibrant color not only shows your support for these troops, but for their families as well. When you wear this color, you are showing the world that their sacrifice matters.
We may not know how hard it is for these families and loved ones to go months and even years without seeing these individuals, but when they see others proudly wearing this color, we hope it brings some comfort to them in knowing that they are not alone. These families need as much support and love as they can get while their loved ones are deployed.
Origins of RED Friday
Not a lot of people know the origins of how RED Friday began. The movement began in 2005, when military supporters started wearing red to show their support for these individuals. It started out specifically for active duty military members, but over the past couple of years, it has widened to anyone who is currently deployed and serving in the military. Over the past 14 years, the RED Friday movement has become widespread across the country, with countless Americans posting pictures of themselves in red across numerous social media sites.
In an article reported by Fox News that was published in 2015, Cecil Cooper, who was a student of Mansfield University and an Army veteran of Operation Desert Storm in 1990-91 and Operation Desert Strike in 1996, knows the hardships of what it means to be deployed to a foreign country and be away from home for months on end. Cooper, along with the Student Government Association of Mansfield University, are avid supporters of RED Friday and played an active role in the movement’s creation.
At Paradiso Insurance, we hold our annual Flag Day BBQ to show our support for our military. This event is free to the public and is encouraged and promoted throughout Stafford Springs to connect with the community. Every year on June 14th, our agency invites the public down to our agency, where we grill hamburgers, hotdogs, sausages and roast beef. In addition, we hand out free Flag Day T-shirts and replacement American flags for anyone who brings in their worn, retired flag. It’s our goal to make sure that everyone is able to proudly display our country’s colors in support of our troops. While we know it is a small show of support, we hope to inspire others to hold similar events within their communities.
How to Show Your Support
If you’d like to show your support for the brave men and women who are currently deployed, remember to wear red! We’d love to see your support, so don’t forget to use the hashtag “#REDFriday” on the pictures you post to social media! We hope to see your pictures this Friday, and remember—even a small gesture such as this can go a long way in raising the spirits of our troops.