URI’s Student Veteran Organization Holds Donation Drive For Fellow Veterans
Throughout the month of September, the University of Rhode Island Student Veterans Organization (SVO), in collaboration with Rhody Outpost, organized a donation drive for the collection of various necessities for homeless veterans in Rhode Island.
The drive accepted toiletries, school supplies, non-perishable foods, socks and more.
Marland Chang, president of SVO, came up with the idea in support of his desire to create outreach and presence outside of the organization.
“We work very closely with Student Affairs and Saffie, who is the director of Rhody Pantry, has her office right next to the veteran office,” Chang said.
Chang said they discussed what they could do, and decided to start the donation drive.
After researching various organizations to potentially partner with, the SVO ultimately decided on collaborating with Operation Stand Down, an institution that provides homeless veterans with legal services and work training.
“All the donations we solicit from our donation drive will be given to Operation Stand Down,” said Chang.
In his research, Chang made sure to look into the items requested by other homeless shelters in need. Prior to the finalization of the drive, the donation of non-perishable food items frequently resulted in a dilemma.
“We said ‘we don’t really have anywhere to put [the nonperishable food items], so let’s partner with Rhody Pantry because they work together with students who have food insecurity,’” said Chang.
Food insecurity means someone is without reliable access to a sufficient quality of affordable, nutritious food. It is a common misfortune among homeless veterans.
Although URI’s SVO spends much of their time giving back to the community, the organization’s roots lie within their three main goals: veterans advocacy, supporting student veterans and bridging the “gap.”
“If you don’t speak for yourself and you don’t champion you beliefs and your people, the people in power are going to create legislation that will keep you out of it,” said Chang. “That part of veteran’s advocacy is important to us.”
Chang explained the constant need for support for student veterans, including providing a support structure for those seeking such a resource after their time in the military.
“For some veterans they can transition very well,” Chang said. “For others this may be difficult because they have joined the military in the first place because they didn’t want to go to school,” he said.
In turn, this can provide a learning curve for student veterans in regards to things like learning time management and study skills.
Chang said the final goal of SVO is bridging the gap between student veterans and other students.
“Oftentimes you will get a ‘thank you for your service,’ you’ll get the ‘I couldn’t imagine what you went through on deployment,’ and it’s not that that isn’t appreciated, that’s just where the conversation stops,” he said.
The SVO wants to take this dialogue a step further. Chang says the organization wants to promote the sharing of experiences lived by student veterans, what it means to be a member of the military and why some people do it and others don’t.
“We all want to honor veterans who have done a service and sacrifice for their country,” he said. “But, how do we do it in the right way and how do we do it without it being just a soundbite?”
With about 300 student veterans on campus, these main objectives of the SVO, along with their yearly events such as the annual Armistice Day Ceremony and the making of holiday cards for veterans overseas, are all in attempt at connecting people to URI’s student veteran population with ease.
“I have always found that having a support group that has your back makes it easier because we are used to having a unit of brothers and sisters who have your back,” he said.
According to Chang, the SVO serves as a place for other veterans to meet each other, share stories and feel like they belong.
“We’re all just like the rest of students, cramming for tests and trying to get projects done,” Chang said.
The URI SVO will continue to accept donations in their office, in Room 317 of the Memorial Union, anytime throughout the year.