^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
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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
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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
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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.
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