John Jay High School Student Creates Business to Help Local Veterans

“By Donating Your Old Watches and Cameras, You’ll Be Helping Those Who Have Served”

Grant Vialardi, a junior at John Jay High School in Cross River, has created a business through which he fixes old watches and cameras and is selling them, donating 100% of the proceeds to benefit local veterans. Grant has partnered with the Lewisboro Veteran’s Advisory Committee, which is supporting his efforts.

Grant calls his initiative “Project Honor” as his goal is to raise money and awareness to honor local veterans for their service. Grant is launching his project on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30th on the front lawn of the Lewisboro Town House in conjunction with the Town of Lewisboro's Memorial Day Service. Grant’s project will continue through Veterans Day. Residents who want to support Grant's efforts are encouraged to bring old watches and cameras to the event that they wish to donate to help honor local veterans.

Grant, who has always been interested in how things work, began tinkering at an early age alongside his grandfather, an aerospace engineer who developed 13 patents. During the pandemic, Grant successfully taught himself how to fix old watches and cameras by watching YouTube videos and conducting other research. He created a business through which he purchases old cameras and watches from auction sites, works on the ones that are fixable and then resells them online.

Grant says, “I want to honor my grandfather who enlisted in the Army because service was important to him and honor all of our local veterans for their service. Their bravery and sacrifice should be recognized, so I wanted to do something to engage the community and remember our veterans.”

  

Grant is reaching out to the community asking residents to donate old cameras and watches that are no longer being used or are no longer functioning. Grant will fix them up and sell them on his website. All proceeds from the sale of the donated items will go back to our community to help local veterans.

Grant’s plan is to have donation boxes set up at a few locations that are convenient for residents. As Grant says, “I think there will be tremendous support from our community and running this fundraiser from Memorial Day through Veterans Day gives families time to find those old watches and cameras that are probably buried in a closet or attic and have them go toward helping those who have made our country safe through their service.”

If local residents would like to support Grant’s efforts or if local businesses would like to participate by having a donation bin at their place of business, Grant can be contacted via email at grant.vialardi@gmail.com

Supporters are also encouraged to follow Grant’s Project Honor page on Facebook where he will be posting updates: click here.

L
Submitted by Lewisboro, NY

Become a Local Voice in Your Community!

HamletHub invites you to contribute stories, events, and more to keep your neighbors informed and connected.

Read Next