Satellites, Student Service Club team up to help troops

November 30, 2009 | UToday
By Vicki L. Kroll



’Tis the season to give. And the Satellites Auxiliary and the College of Medicine Student Service Club are collecting items to help members of the 983rd Engineering Battalion.

“We’re helping the contingent in Monclova that has 120 soldiers,” said Lynn Brand, president of the Satellites. “Some 70 soldiers recently returned from deployment to find that their jobs no longer existed due to businesses closing.”

Suggested items to help the soldiers and their families diapers, wipes, formula and cereal for babies, as well as paper towels, toilet paper, tissues, bath soap, powder, deodorant, lip balm, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss, hairbrushes and combs, mouthwash, razors, shaving cream, aftershave, feminine hygiene products, hand sanitizer, nail clippers and files, bandages, aspirin, ibuprofen, sunscreen, lotion, phone cards and gum.

Donation boxes will be placed in the lobbies of buildings on Health Science Campus Monday, Nov. 30.

“We’ll collect items through Dec. 15 and then deliver everything to the base,” Brand said.

“This project is a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to partner with our students for such a great cause,” Brand said. “We collected items for the troops a few years ago and needed a pickup truck to deliver everything. That was awesome!”

“Times are tough in one way or another for everyone in Toledo, and I can’t think of a better place to start making a difference than with the folks who fight for our country,” said Benjamin Jacobs, second-year medical student and president of the Student Service Club. “The men and women of the 983rd battalion — and their families — have earned the UT community’s enthusiastic support.”

The mission of the 983rd Engineering Battalion is to maintain combat readiness and proficiency in the engineering skills necessary for the support of combat operations. In addition to Monclova, the battalion has companies in Bryan and Lima.

For more information on the collection drive, contact Brand at lynn.brand@utoledo.edu or Peg Simon at 419.491.1665.

Click to access the login or register cheese