Slippery Rock University students from the Military Support Group gathered in November in the Smith Student Center to decorate packages and write letters that will be sent to active-duty military service members.

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.”

For more information, or to submit donations or the name and address of a military member who should receive a care package, contact Samantha Figard at sjf1009@sru.edu.

A full story appears in the Butler Eagle.