FOLLOW THE VETERANS CLUB'S MISSION TO JOPLIN
Posted on August 22, 2011
Check the mission’s status at BurnPit, the American Legion's blog site. The Veterans
Club at California University of
Pennsylvania is on a mission to aid fellow military veterans in tornado-ravaged
Joplin, Mo. Club members will drive from Cal
U to Joplin, stopping along the way to solicit funds for the Missouri veterans
at American Legion posts. Operation CALJOP (California/Joplin) will take the
Veterans Club members to Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and
Missouri. The group will depart from Cal U
on Aug. 24. Club members will arrive in Joplin on Aug. 26 to meet with veterans
and deliver the donations. On a similar mission last year,
the Cal U Veterans Club traveled to Michigan for the University’s first varsity
football game of the season. Along the way, the veterans raised more than
$1,750 for Jackie Syverson, a Cal U graduate student whose husband was killed
while on active duty. “This year we are changing gears
just a little bit,” says Capt. Robert Prah,
director of California University’s Office of Veterans Affairs. “We decided to
focus our mission on veterans in need. Our goal this year is to raise $2,500
for Joplin’s veterans and their families.” Howard Spiva, commander of the
Robert S. Thurman Post 13 in Joplin, has told Prah that dozens of veterans lost
everything when devastating storms swept through his community on May 22. More
than 150 people were killed. In addition to collecting
donations, the Cal U veterans hope their journey will raise awareness of the
American Legion’s national mission to support and serve veterans of all wars.
On the road they will wear T-shirts highlighting the Legion’s “4 Pillars of
Service.” Prah intends to post updates
about the group’s progress on BurnPit, the
American Legion’s blog site.
