Cowboys find ways to support troops

Friday, November 6, 2009

By Celeste Cash

Watch video on Red Shirt, Orange Friday's initiative here.

(STILLWATER, OK – November 6, 2009) To a soldier serving overseas, sometimes a package from home is all the encouragement you need, and Oklahoma State University students and faculty can help make this a reality for many troops by getting involved in two new programs on campus.

The OSU Student Veterans Organization is sponsoring “A Cowboy Christmas”, a drive to collect items to be sent to deployed troops in Afghanistan. SVO is a new social networking group on campus that helps in the military transition for students. The organization offers help and guidance with programs available to vets, and also is a way to remember those who are still serving.

“Most of us have deployed, and it means a lot when we receive a package or even a letter,” Abby Speed, SVO President, said. “We chose Afghanistan as the location to send the packages because it’s very difficult to get even the bare necessities there.”

There are many items that are needed, including letters of support, magazines and toiletries, and they can be dropped off all day November 9-13th at Thatcher Hall and Kerr-Drummond Hall, and November 10-12th at the Student Union from 10 a.m. to noon. For more information and for a complete list of needed items visit the OSU SVO Web site at http://svo.okstate.edu.

“Red Shirt, Orange Friday”, sponsored by The OSU Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow, is a program that allows Cowboys to show their support for the troops. Special red shirts with the OSU logo were made and sold for an event that took place on October 2, 2009. Proceeds from these shirts went toward filling soldier care packages. Megan McCool, President of the organization, said they are hopeful that the event will continue next year, at which time more shirts can be purchased. Red Shirt Friday is a national movement aimed at showing support for the sacrifice of servicemen and women. For more information about the Red Shirt Friday program, visit http://www.redshirtfridays.org.