Coffee with Vets and Day of Service gave students on campus a great opportunity to connect with members of Rowan’s military community and allowed them to volunteer to help veterans as well as service members on deployment.
On Nov. 6, the Rohrer College of Business hosted its Coffee with Vets, which led into its fourth annual Day of Service. From 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., students could connect with Rowan’s military community over free coffee and donuts. This created a great opportunity for veterans, those with family members in the military, and supporters to stop in and chat or share stories with one another.
“Coffee with Vets is a community-building event to bring together members of our military community or students who might have family members in the military, or really just students who want to engage and create a welcoming space for that population on campus,” said Elisabeth Parker, assistant director in employer partnerships and a staff member in the business school career center.
The Rohrer College of Business and Rowan’s military services came together for the Day of Service event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to put together care packages for service members abroad, make Christmas cards for veterans, and gather a number of supplies for Cathedral Kitchen in Camden, New Jersey. Many of the student volunteers who came out to the event worked on the placemats and centerpieces that are going to be sent out, as well as the Christmas cards that will be sent to veterans and service members on deployment.
“It’s about being a corporate citizen and helping out the community around them. This is a chance to give back to soldiers who aren’t here and just let them know, hey, we care about you while you’re over there protecting our freedoms,” said Shawn Chester, a worker for the military services office.
Military Appreciation Week is in a few weeks, so the military services office plans to do similar things that were involved in the Day of Service event, like making more care packages. There is also a Toys for Tots initiative on campus, where bins are set up all over campus where students or the public can donate, which benefits children of soldiers who need support this Christmas.
The events made it so that students could interact with different members of their community that they may not have engaged with before. Some students weren’t aware of the event until coming into Business Hall, but after seeing what it was about, decided to help out and volunteer this morning and afternoon for the donations going towards veterans.
“There is always something interesting happening in Business Hall, and I was like, let me check it out and see what’s going on. I heard that it was for veterans, and I’m always happy to help the community and to help our veterans. I said if you guys need any help, just let me know, so I came down after class and came to help,” said Anthony Perez, an entrepreneurship freshman and member of the CEO club at Rowan.
The event was an amazing opportunity for students to come together and help support veterans and those on deployment. It also allowed students to compete with other RCB clubs in earning the most service hours and donations, creating a fun way for clubs to engage with one another while also finding a way to build the Rowan community.
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