thedrifter
04-29-06, 07:19 AM
College Republicans collect donations
By Vinti Singh, Staff Writer. Posted April 28, 2006.
Under a white tent in Speaker’s Circle, the College Republicans collected donations for care packages to send to Marines overseas.
Freshman Amber Hanneken donated three magazines, oatmeal packets and gum.
“It’s important for people to support our country and our troops,” Hanneken said. “These are things they don’t get over there. They will help them feel more at home.”
College Republicans collected items from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
“This is the second time we’ve done this,” Vice President Nikki Swisher said. “We were pretty successful last year.”
At 12:30 p.m., Swisher said the College Republicans had already collected more items than last year.
Swisher said people donated a lot of food, especially sunflower seeds.
The organization collected a total of 161 items, eight thank-you letters for the troops and $83 in cash donations.
“We approximated that all the donations equaled $500,” College Republicans spokesman TJ Carey said. “We thought it was pretty successful.”
College Republicans President Tyson Mutrux said the drive was not politically motivated.
“We do this for the soldiers,” Mutrux said. “We started this last year because it doesn’t seem people (on campus) do a lot of things for soldiers.”
Sophomore Jason Key, who served on active duty in Iraq last year, let people who made donations try on his body armor.
“It gives people an idea of the weight and equipment they’re using to make the connection,” Carey said.
Carey said being in mid-Missouri often makes students feel like they can’t contribute.
“We’re giving them an avenue to help the troops,” Carey said.
Mutrux said he hoped the drive also would improve the College Republicans’ image on campus.
“We want people to know we’re friendly,” Mutrux said. “We have a bad image due to the war. There’s a lot of misconceptions. People think we’re warmongers and they think every time Republicans are elected into office, they start a war.”
Mutrux said the College Republicans want to reach out to the community.
“Conservative values are about reaching out to people, not big business,” Mutrux said.
The care packages were collected and donated through MarineParents.com, Inc.
Tracy Della Vecchia, founder of the national collection facility, said MarineParents.com originally started as a support group for families of the troops.
“We have organizations all over the United States that send us packages,” Della Vecchia said. “We spend about $16,000 every time because we don’t get enough donations.”
Three nationwide facilities send 750 to 1,000 packages to marines every other month, Della Vecchia said.
The packages are sent to marines who typically do not receive any care packages. Their names are given to MarineParents.com by commanding officers in the field.
Ellie
By Vinti Singh, Staff Writer. Posted April 28, 2006.
Under a white tent in Speaker’s Circle, the College Republicans collected donations for care packages to send to Marines overseas.
Freshman Amber Hanneken donated three magazines, oatmeal packets and gum.
“It’s important for people to support our country and our troops,” Hanneken said. “These are things they don’t get over there. They will help them feel more at home.”
College Republicans collected items from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
“This is the second time we’ve done this,” Vice President Nikki Swisher said. “We were pretty successful last year.”
At 12:30 p.m., Swisher said the College Republicans had already collected more items than last year.
Swisher said people donated a lot of food, especially sunflower seeds.
The organization collected a total of 161 items, eight thank-you letters for the troops and $83 in cash donations.
“We approximated that all the donations equaled $500,” College Republicans spokesman TJ Carey said. “We thought it was pretty successful.”
College Republicans President Tyson Mutrux said the drive was not politically motivated.
“We do this for the soldiers,” Mutrux said. “We started this last year because it doesn’t seem people (on campus) do a lot of things for soldiers.”
Sophomore Jason Key, who served on active duty in Iraq last year, let people who made donations try on his body armor.
“It gives people an idea of the weight and equipment they’re using to make the connection,” Carey said.
Carey said being in mid-Missouri often makes students feel like they can’t contribute.
“We’re giving them an avenue to help the troops,” Carey said.
Mutrux said he hoped the drive also would improve the College Republicans’ image on campus.
“We want people to know we’re friendly,” Mutrux said. “We have a bad image due to the war. There’s a lot of misconceptions. People think we’re warmongers and they think every time Republicans are elected into office, they start a war.”
Mutrux said the College Republicans want to reach out to the community.
“Conservative values are about reaching out to people, not big business,” Mutrux said.
The care packages were collected and donated through MarineParents.com, Inc.
Tracy Della Vecchia, founder of the national collection facility, said MarineParents.com originally started as a support group for families of the troops.
“We have organizations all over the United States that send us packages,” Della Vecchia said. “We spend about $16,000 every time because we don’t get enough donations.”
Three nationwide facilities send 750 to 1,000 packages to marines every other month, Della Vecchia said.
The packages are sent to marines who typically do not receive any care packages. Their names are given to MarineParents.com by commanding officers in the field.
Ellie