Editor’s note: Since late November, the Sidney Daily News office has been a collection point for Java for GIs, an American Red Cross project that accepts donations of coffee to be distributed to veterans’ facilities. The collection runs through Dec. 31 and readers who would like to donate cans, bags or k-cups of coffee can drop them off at 1451 N. Vandemark Road, Sidney, weekdays, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The newspaper staff has been excited to watch the stash grow, but we have a long way to go to match what a Dayton intern, a Wright State University student, has achieved. Read about that in the story below. In the few days we have left in the campaign, we probably can’t match his remarkable collection. But how close can we come? That’s up to you, our readers.
By press time, we had recieved 53 containers (some of them huge!) of coffee, 405 k-cups, two boxes of 100-count tea bags, one box of 10-count instant hot chocolate packets, a jar of nondairy creamer, a box of sugar and some coffee pot filters.
If you haven’t already donated coffee, why not do so now? If you have donated, why not donate again? Let’s see if we can amass 1,000 containers right here in Shelby County. The challenge is open. The game’s afoot. And it’s veterans in southwestern Ohio’s VA hospitals and the Wright-Patterson Medical Center who will benefit from our generosity.
DAYTON — Nathan Gunter, an intern at the Dayton Area Chapter of the American Red Cross, is pouring his heart and soul into the organization’s Service to the Armed Forces’ Java for GIs program.
The Red Cross is collecting coffee throughout the Dayton and Cincinnati regions which will be distributed to local veterans’ hospitals and Wright-Patterson Medical Center. Early next year, the Red Cross will host coffee socials where civilians will be invited to share conversation and fellowship with veterans over a cup of coffee.
Since Veterans Day, Gunter, a veteran and student at Wright State University, has collected thousands of cans, bags and individual coffee and k-cups. Nathan’s efforts were fueled by the program’s overall purpose of connecting civilians and veterans. He worked with Wright State’s Veteran & Military Center, as well as the university’s student body and faculty, in particular Dr. Seth Gordan, who helped him spread the word across campus.
“We had the idea of giving our local veterans something that would help bring them together with civilians for a visit: a simple cup of coffee,” Gunter explained. “As a veteran, I know the importance of sharing your stories. These conversations can be therapeutic, so why not enjoy it with a hot cup of coffee in your hand?”
