Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (April 25, 2012)
^T he Clackamas Print W ednesday, A pril 25, 2012 new sed& clackamas.edu News Jerred Sundquist,president o f the C C C Veterans Club, helps struggling student veterans with unexpected financial needs. H e has worked to develop fun d in g sources fo r the Veterans Club a t CCC to provide discretionary grants to help GJ B ill recipients in between ben f i t payments. Struggling vets receive extra college money By Joshua Dillen News Editor Every drop in the bucket counts, especially w hen those drops are discretionary dollars for struggling veterans attending college. Free money will be avail able to these students to fill gaps in how their G I Bill monies are dispersed, beginning this summer term at Clackamas Community CLoVVe^e. , Oregon Q ty Elks and Veterans o f Foreign Wars (VFW) have donated $6,700 to the Veteran’s Club at the college. Elks m em bers Dick and Barbara Knudson donated $5,000. W ith these dona tions, the Pay It Forward Program has been established to provide grants to veteran students who need a little extra financial help. Veterans C lub president Jerred Sundquist saw a need among fel low students in the club, one he had experienced himself. Late pay ments o f benefits through the G I Bill would really affect a veterans financial situation when attending □ tarr The Clackamas Print aims to report the news in an honest, unbiased and professional manner. Content published in The Print is not screened or subject to censorship. 19600 Molalla Ave. Oregon City, OR 97045 school, whether it be supplies, gas, lack o f m oney or even food and diapers needed for their children. Besides the m onetary frustrations, veterans have m any other issues to deal w ith compared to non military students. Sundquist felt it was im portant to -d o his best to solve these issues and take on an active role to help his fellow vets —- to give extra financial help during these crucial times. “An old military instructor of m i n e o n c e s a id , m a le e t i m e for the things th at are important to you,’” said Sundquist. “I could not have done this w ithout the help o f everybody here at the Veterans Club,” he said. “Their efforts took an idea and turned it into this great pro posal to the Oregon City Elks that turned into an endowment that will pay veteran students every term.” 7 Greg Myers, d u b adviser to the Veterans Club, with connections to key members o f the Oregon City Elks Club and the VFW, helped coordinate the proposal that led to th e donations for the Editors Editor-in-Chief: Brian Baldwin Copy Editor: Katherine Suydam News Editor: Joshua Dillen Arts&Culture: Isaac Soper Sports Editor: John William Howard Associate Sports Editor: Emily Rask Pay It Forward Program. Myers is a reserve officer in the Marines and understands the potential financial plight that some stu dents face w ith gaps in their G I Bill compensation. In spite o f his education and the qualifications from his military career, he has experienced unemploym ent and struggled to make ends m eet for his tamily during the nation’s past and current economic climate. “It’s been very bard for me. I realrzjeA V y o w ¿Lifftcvilt i t w a s ; f o r me,” Myers said, “but what about a kid who has no education and coming back from one tour who has a wife co'uple of kids like me? It’s even worse!” “Its groundbreaking stuff when the students get together and. are essentially turning ideas into action,” said Myers. “You don’t see that very often:” Sundquist expressed that the program never would have happened, if not for the help o f Secretary T ina Weeks and Treasurer Georgia Heimlich and their passion for making sure the program will continue to get the Writers & Photographers David Beasley Breanna Craine Joey Fisher Craig Hartrampt Patrick Quinn Felicia Skriyer. Chris Taylor Steven Weldon Photo Editor: Brad Heineke Web Editor: Anna Axelson Design Editor: James Duncan Ad Manager: Patrick Emerson Adviser: Melissa Jones 503-594-6266 fundraising it will need to grow. H e explained that there wifi be enough m oney dispersed to help two students w ith a small grant at the beginning o f sum m er term. Qualified students will be able to fill out an application that shows need and the m ost qualified will be awarded. Exact details o f those needs are still being worked out as is the exact am ount o f the grant awarded to each student. W ith available funds that were willed t o t h e f o u n d a t io n f r o m a v e t s life m oney indefinitely. According to Sundquist, there is m ore than $16,000 in the fund and it is still growing. Vicki Smith, development offi cer with the C C G Foundation is coordinating the administration o f tfre endowm ent fund for the Veterans Club. She explained that the annual paym ent from the endowm ent will go into a Fund for Excellence 'th a t will provide uarterly grants to veteran stu- 3 ents. insurance policy there was enough m oney to create an endowment that w ould m ake and payout C C C is supporting its veteran students,” said Smith. Production Assistants Contact Information Christian Adams Mollie Berry Jaronte Goldsby Martin Gonzalez Harley Jackson Hicham Kerkour Joey Nardin Darla Nguyen Ellen Niles Trent Noon Evon Trembly “T h is is ju st o n e m o r e w a y chiefed@clackamas.edu copyed@clackamas.edu newsed@clackamas.edu aced@clackamas.edu sportsed@clackamas.edu photoed@cla.ckamas.edu admgr@clackamas.edu webed itor@clackamas.edu i
