With Veterans Day coming up on Nov. 11, the University of North Georgia has decided across all campuses to celebrate by having a Veterans Appreciation week which will include different activities such as Camo Day, a Veterans Day Ceremony, and a clothing donation drive benefiting AMVETS. UNG has partnered with AMVETS by hosting a clothing donation drive on all campuses from now until Friday, Nov 12.
UNG’s NEST Specialist, Chizuru Colón, came up with the idea for Veterans Appreciation week and the donation drive and hopes to receive lots of clothes to donate to the AMVETS donation center in Flowery Branch. She also hopes that students will recognize that they are going to school with and being taught by veterans each and every day.
“We have a lot of student veterans and I just want people to know there are UNG employees, professors, and staff who are also veterans. That’s the point of me doing the Veterans Appreciation week.” -Chizuru Colón.
AMVETS was started during World War II to help better assist veterans and is now open to all currently active members and veterans of any age. AMVETS helps assist veterans with housing, job searches, and donates 100% of their thrift store profit to veterans. She decided to partner with AMVETS in a clothing donation drive because she wanted to partner with a local group as well as do something that college kids could participate in. “I wanted to do something that was easy for anybody to do,” Colón said, “Anybody can participate and it’s right here and local so that made sense to me.”
Colón is asking UNG students, staff, and faculty to donate gently-used clothes to AMVETS. Students and staff can find the boxes with an AMVETS logo on the front at different locations on each campus. For Veterans Appreciation week students, staff and faculty are asked to participate in other activities such as:
Wear Camo Monday (Nov. 8) — All Campuses
Veterans Appreciation Breakfast (Nov. 9) — All Campuses
Career Readiness Workshop (Nov. 10) — Virtual
Veterans Day Ceremony (Nov. 11) — Oconee Campus
Veterans Resource Fair (Nov. 11) — Gainesville Campus
National Roll Call (Nov. 11) — Gainesville Campus
