Slippery Rock University student group supports military
SLIPPERY ROCK — If the soldier in the country song “Letters from Home” were a Slippery Rock University graduate, the songwriter would add an extra verse about the personalized letter he received from an SRU student, along with a box of snacks, toiletries, crafts, University T-shirts and other souvenirs.
Each year, the Military Support Group, a student organization at SRU, decorates packages, writes letters and collects items that it sends to SRU alumni serving in the armed forces.
The group hosted its annual care package event last month at the Smith Student Center to decorate the boxes and write letters. The group will reconvene in March to pack all the items and ship them.
“We try to get a little taste of SRU in each box so when they open it they feel like their university still cares about them and they are still a part of the SRU family,” said Sierra Ginther, a junior marketing major from Weedville, Elk County, who is a past president and current treasurer of the Military Support Group. “You're not just here for four years; it's something that follows you forever.”
In addition to helping active-duty alumni, the group comforts students who have family members serving overseas and supports other military-connected members of the campus community.
“(The group) started out as a support group where we wanted everybody to get together and discuss any issues they are having when their loved ones were away,” said Samantha Figard, a sophomore English literature major from Altoona, who is the club president.
Kara Werkmeister, a 2014 graduate whose boyfriend was in the U.S. Navy, started the club. After Werkmeister graduated, students like Ginther were instrumental in continuing the group. It became an officially recognized student organization in 2015.
Ginther's brother, Shane, is a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, who was stationed in Japan for three years but is now in North Carolina.
“I've been very motivated because (military members) mean a lot to me,” said Ginther. “I know what they do for us and they deserve a lot more than anything we can ever do for them.”While regular Military Support Group meetings attract 10-15 students, the previous care package events drew more than 100. Organizers encourage all SRU students to participate, even those like Figard who have no military connections.The care packages, which are medium-sized, flat rate boxes from the U.S. Postal Service, are decorated from the inside so that they unfold like a large greeting card.New for this year, the Military Support Group is accepting names and addresses of military members who are not SRU alumni, but who are friends and relatives of SRU students, faculty and staff. Donations are being accepted through March, when the group plans to pack and send the care packages.For more information, or to submit donations or the name and address of a military member who should receive a care package, contact Figard at sjf1009@sru.edu.
