Since it was established in 2010, the Veterans and Military Support Club at CSU-Pueblo focuses on the men and women in the U.S. military.
It is a club, “based for veterans on campus, current servicemen and students who want to support the military,” said Ryan Schuler, the club’s president. There is no restriction on who can join, although “the membership mostly focuses on vets helping vets,” said Schuler.
The current membership consists of 20 veterans and servicemen, as well as 10 other students who simply wish to give their support to the campus organization. The members meet every Wednesday at 6 p.m., at the Library and Academic Resources Center, Room 375.
“The meetings usually last an hour, during which the members plan for the various projects, community service events and fundraisers that will be put on, with a focus towards benefiting the military personnel at the university,” said Schuler. “The purpose of the meetings is to address the goals of promoting education, service and fellowship”.
An example of military service projects VMSC recently took part in was a food drive, which occurred during the 2011 spring semester. They were able to put together a 400-pound food package, which was later shipped to the soldiers overseas.
They also signed up to work for Habitat for Humanity that same semester in a project to paint houses. Since the task required a lot of laborers, the Veterans and Military Support Club enlisted the help of another campus club, the Campus Crusade for Christ, to help them paint.
This semester, VMSC will be involved in several events on campus. They are planning an event for Veterans Day, Nov. 11, as well as working with the renovation group for the Southeast Asia Memorial.
VMSC, partnered with the Marine Corps League, will provide the dinner at the fundraiser for the Southeast Asia Memorial’s renovation. The fundraising dinner will take place Sept. 30, at 5 p.m., in the OUC Ballroom. Tickets are $35.
Another attraction for this event will be that Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia, former president of CSU-Pueblo, will be the keynote speaker for the dinner.
Projects that are geared toward helping members of the community without ties to the military are also being planned.
“Seven days of community service are being planned where the club will be building houses with Habitat for Humanity,” said Schuler.
For more information on VMSC, contact Schuler at [email protected]
