Mayra Bocanegra / Roundup
The Student Veteran Organization (SVO) hosted a barbecue yesterday to raise funds that will go towards the Wounded Warriors program and help SVO members obtain a Veteran’s Resource Center here on campus.
The sale consisted of turkey burgers, cheeseburgers and a five dollar meal deal including chips and water.
The soldiers, coming from different branches of the military, grilled burgers for a huge crowd of supporters for approximately seven hours.
Fellow students, faculty and even construction workers lined up on the Mall to support the cause of these soldiers, while others simply made donations.
“It’s not something we do every day,” said Joshua Michel, a Pierce College student. “We should support them for giving us our freedom”.
This fundraiser helped to raise veteran awareness on campus, as almost one out of three students at Pierce are veterans, according to Vice President Christopher Sorbello.
“We’re letting veterans know that we haven’t forgot them, even though we’re no longer in the combat zone,” said Sorbello.
SVO was founded in June 2010 with the purpose of notifying veterans of educational updates, as well as providing a place for them to relax.
The organization hopes to be able to provide a resource center where veterans can catch up with work, do homework, receive tutoring and meet with counselors.
But that has been a challenge, as all space on campus has been accounted for.
According to Sorbello, the Chancellor’s Office in Sacramento could write a grant to furnish their center if the school were to allot the necessary space.
“It’s time to shake the tree,” said Sorbello. ” Once we get the Veteran’s Center, we can get more veterans involved to help other veterans.”
The current office located in the Student Services building is so small that there is no space for disabled veterans.
“We want to get it out there to the other people. There’s awareness, but no one wants to do anything about it,” said Sorbello.
Any veteran interested in joining the SVO can attend meetings held every month. For more information visit pierce-veteran@piercecollege.edu