Student Veterans Organization Hosting Fundraiser for Operation Welcome Home

The Student Veterans Organization, which includes students attending Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community & Technical College, is hosting a softball scrimmage game to help raise funds for Operation Welcome Home.

The Student Veterans Organization will play a scrimmage softball game against the FSU baseball and softball teams at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, at Duvall-Rosier Field. Admission is free, but donations will be collected and all proceeds will go to Operation Welcome Home. A rain date has been set for Friday, Oct. 10.

According to its web site at http://www.veteransoncall.com/operation-welcome-home, Operation Welcome Home is a program “for veterans by veterans” and aims to alleviate common barriers to services and employment faced by veterans who have selflessly served their country.Stud

Daniel Pasquariello, a lance corporal in the Marine Reserves, serves as president of the SVO.

“We need veterans and students to support us,” Pasquariello told the campus newspaper The Columns. “If we plan on making this work, we need everyone we can get. I encourage students to reach out to their families and friends, find veterans in the community and let’s make them a part of our effort.”

Former SVO president and retired Sgt. Darryl W. Helmick told The Columns that: “A lot of veterans who enter education after serving in the military have a difficult time transitioning from soldier to civilian life. The SVO is an organization on campus that allows veteran students to come together and experience camaraderie. We want to give veterans something to do on campus that has meaning and is worthwhile. Going to school isn’t just about attending classes.”

For more information, contact the Veterans Services Office at (304) 368-7258.

Student Veterans OrganizationOperation Welcome HomeDan PasquarielloDarryl W. Helmick