OPERATION COLMERY SUPPORTS SCHOLARSHIPS

Posted on August 20, 2012

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 support scholarships aimed at providing higher education for veterans and their families.

Club members will drive from Cal U to Buffalo, N.Y., stopping at American Legion posts along the way to solicit funds for the both the American Legion Legacy Scholarship and the new Cal U Post 9/11 Era Veterans Scholarship.

The group will depart from Cal U on Aug. 23. Club members will arrive in Salamanca, N.Y., later that night and continue to Buffalo on Aug. 24.

The American Legion Legacy Scholarship is a national endowment that funds higher education for children whose parents were killed while serving in the U.S. military.

The Post 9/11 Era Veterans Scholarship at Cal U supports veterans who served after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Operation Colmery — named for Harry W. Colmery, who drafted the original G.I. Bill — will continue collecting donations in Buffalo before Veterans Club members attend the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Buffalo Bills football game.

On a similar mission last year, the Cal U Veterans Club traveled to tornado-ravaged Joplin, Mo., to aid fellow military veterans. Along the way, the group raised more than $1,250 for Joplin’s veterans and their families.

“We like to plan a different fundraising trip every year,” says Capt. Robert Prah, director of California University’s Office of Veterans Affairs. “We are honored to collect money for the national legacy scholarship and are excited to kick-start our own scholarship here at Cal U.”

The group intends to post updates about their progress on BurnPit, the American Legion’s blog site, and through Twitter @CalUVetsAffairs and @CalUVetsClub.