Runners, walkers and military supporters took part at Jamestown Community College Military Aligned Students Club’s inaugural fundraiser race, Nov. 9, 2023. P-J photo by Christopher Blakeslee

Jamestown Community College Veteran and Military Aligned Student’s Club will host its second annual 5K race, run, walk fundraiser Saturday at JCC.

Registration begins at 10 a.m. at the Jamestown Campus Physical Education Complex parking lot, with the race starting at 11 a.m. Prizes will be awarded to the top three male and female finishers.

According to Don Pool, the school’s coordinator of accessibility services, and faculty adviser for the Veteran and Military Aligned Student’s Club, all money raised by this event are earmarked for a compelling cause.

“This year we’re raising funds to help send veteran and military aligned students to the Student Veterans of America National Convention, which will be held in Colorado Springs, Colo.,” he said.

Student Veterans of America organization is the premier organization leading service, research, programs, and advocacy for veterans in higher education. Additionally, the SVA acts as a catalyst for student veteran success by providing resources, network support and advocacy to, though, and beyond higher education, according to studentveterans.org.

“Having our students attend the SVA Convention is so beneficial, not only for the students, but for the college as well,” said Pool.

Pool said former JCC students Yeidy Bishop and Matthew Adams, along with himself, were able to attend the SVA National Convention in 2023 and to share ideas and best practices with student veterans, military-connected students, and other supporters, as well as corporate, government and nonprofit partners. The JCC contingent was also able to bring back information on recruiting efforts for the club; up-to-date information on scholarships; Veteran Administration educational benefits and employment opportunities.

“I can’t say enough good things about the organization,” he said. “We brought back so much good information from the convention, and I’m really excited for our students who were going to it this year.”

JCC has been designated a military friendly college by Viqtory Media, with its designation upgraded from silver to gold while the college earned a Military Spouse-Friendly School distinction for the first time. More than 1,800 colleges and universities were evaluated for the 2024-2025 cycle using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey to determine the awards, with 537 earning designations. The 2024-2025 Military Friendly Schools list can be found in the May and October issues of G.I. Jobs magazine, and at MilitaryFriendly.com.

“Military veterans tend to be older than traditional students, have family members they have to take care of, have full-time jobs, but are also natural leaders in the classroom,” said Dr. Daniel DeMarte, president of JCC and a military veteran himself. “We strive to be a welcoming campus and organization. We help military veterans with transition and accessing the programs and services they have earned.”

For more information, contact Don Pool at 716-338-1251 or DonPool@mail.sunyjcc.edu. For more information on how transiting service members or military veterans can access their federal benefits, contact Mellissa Stormer at Military@mail.sunyjcc.edu or call 716-338-1018.