HomeDistributing Flag Collections

Distributing Flag Collections

Occasionally NAVA members or their estates ask for advice about what to do with extensive flag collections. NAVA can serve as an intermediary, helping to distribute them to teachers, members of NAVA who will put the flags to use in the classroom.
Contact Alex Zimmerman for more information about donating flags to the program or receiving flags for the classroom.

Collections Donated to Date

Rev. Thomas E. Light, Jr.—Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
John Gregory Wild—Portland, Oregon
Bill Neckrock—Rochester Hills, Michigan
Gerard McCavera—Southold, New York
Jack Dugan—Portland, Oregon
Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr.—Portland, Tennessee
Walter Braunschweig—Volcano, California
Leo Gardella—Portland, Oregon

NAVA member and teacher Clay Moss shows the flag of the governor of Victoria, Australia —part of a large collection donated by the estate of longtime NAVA member Rev. Thomas E. Light, Jr., in June 2020, to Park Place Christian Academy, in Pearl, Mississippi and to three other schools.

Vision-impaired students at the Washington State School for the Blind identify flags through tactile examination.

Prof. Mabon Finch unfurls a Belgian state ensign in a Northern European art class at Northwest-Shoals Community College in Florence Alabama, from the 500-flag collection of NAVA and Portland Flag Association member John Gregory Wild distributed in late 2021 to teachers in five schools.

Kindergartners learn from national flags contributed by NAVA.

Feedback from an enthusiastic teacher:

Here is a picture of my kindergarteners with two of the flags NAVA shared with my class.
I gave a district Social Studies lesson about community today. The gist of the lesson is that community starts small and expands. We learn about types of community through showing and discussing neighborhoods, city, country, globe, earth...
My kinders LOVED seeing the flags of Mexico and Canada, along with the U.S. flag, and connecting it to the lesson! They noticed the maple leaf on the Canadian flag and we got to talk about trees as an important part of Canada. One of my kinders even said, "Look at the Golden Eagle on the flag from Mexico!" Another said, "It's eating a snake!" They loved discovering the stories the flags have.
Thank you so very much for sharing this resource. Authentic artifacts like this make authentic learning connections for all students, including our youngest ones.

Karin M. Hedlund, Arleta Elementary, Portland, Oregon

Another teacher writes:

Thank you for the beautiful flags! They will be taking a multi-age tour until they end up at their final destination! The first stop is a kindergarten classroom.

Today, I shared the different country flags with my class. We have studied several countries so the children were excited to share their knowledge. Once we finished the lesson I snapped a photo of my students that were holding the flag of the country they were born in or their parents were born there.

My son is currently doing his student-teaching at a high school. He will be a social studies and history teacher. I am going to gift the flags for him to hang in his first classroom next fall! I know he will be thrilled to have such an amazing collection for his students to enjoy.

Thank you for your generous gift.

Kindergartners with flags representing their family origins.