Give to the Veteran and Military Center
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Why Give?
Why is it important to give to our Veteran and Military-Connected students?
Wright State serves nearly 1,000 student veterans and military-connected and active-duty personnel. We do not know the exact number because not all veterans choose to disclose their service. Our student veterans are older—averaging age 30—and are often juggling the demands of family, work, and school, like other non-traditional students. For some, making the transition directly from the military to college can be disorienting. They are moving from a culture where the rules for success and engagement are overt to an environment where they must actively promote themselves.
The field of higher education is working hard to gain clarity in understanding the impact and trauma of war. It also is beginning to accept that it must provide a comprehensive array of services to veterans to serve them well. Your financial support allows the Veteran and Military Center (VMC) to customize our support for our veterans in ways that matter the most to them.
When you choose to make a gift to the VMC, you directly impact both students and programs.
Available Funds
Detailed Fund Descriptions
The VMC Excellence Fund
This fund is a general discretionary fund that supports programming, events, speakers, workshops, and community-building activities. A sampling of some of those programs is listed below.
- Battle Buddy and Orientation Program (BBOP)
Transitioning to college from the military can be difficult and disorienting. BBOP seeks to create a veteran-only orientation program. It also provides funding to support our vet-to-vet mentoring program during the first term. By partnering more experienced student veterans with new student veterans, we strive to provide a more comfortable transition to college life. - Academic Support
Our goal in the center is to provide all of the needed tools for classroom success. This includes a dedicated full-time study coach; providing free tutoring to all veteran and military-connected students; and providing educational workshops and tools (e.g. self-guided educational software) to our faculty and staff about the best practices to support our veteran and military-connected students. - Veterans Voices Oral History Project
The Veterans Voices project trains current Wright State student veterans how to gather the stories of veterans from previous conflicts. This program seeks to build bridges across the generations and provides an opportunity for each generation of veterans to serve each other.
The VMC Scholarship Fund
Our goal is to provide scholarship aid that works for our student veterans, trusting them to determine how they are used.
Veterans and military-connected students receive funding through a variety of sources depending on the types of their service. The most common is the Post 9/11 GI Bill®, which provides 36 months of benefits that include tuition and fees, books, and a housing stipend during enrollment periods. Long breaks, like those in the summer and winter, mean no benefits. In addition, once these benefits are exhausted, there is nothing left. With more responsibilities, student veterans often take more than 36 months to complete college.
We want to support all veteran and military students, not just those with GI Bill® support. Scholarships will assist veterans who want to attend part-time; support active-duty personnel; or provide support to those who may have exhausted their benefits. We also hope to create a contingency fund to help student-veterans facing short-term financial needs—such as delayed VA funding—that can derail their education.
A special note: At this time, none of our scholarships will be “tuition-only.” While we appreciate very much the sentiment behind this restriction, these scholarships do not “stack” with the department of the Veterans Affairs (i.e. the GI Bill®). We must deduct the scholarship before we submit our processing to the VA – in effect lowering the “cost” to the VA, but not allowing the student to necessarily get ahead.
Hospitality Gifts
We believe in the power of breaking bread. Nothing says that better than by providing a cup of coffee, snacks, or even a hot meal in a safe and welcoming space. When we designed the VMC we heard that our student veterans wanted an environment that mirrored a USO.
You can assist us by:
- Making donations to the student canteen. This can include cans of soda/pop/juice or small individually wrapped snack items. If you have perishable items please call ahead. For obvious reasons, we prefer perishable items (e.g. locally grown apples) at the beginning of the week.
- Sponsor a Meal. Whether you are bringing pizza or would like to sponsor a breakfast, lunch, or dinner, we encourage you to call us so we can coordinate timing and publicity. We love surprises too – but just let us know you’re coming 937-775-5550.
- Sponsor a night out with the Raiders
- Providing opportunities for fellowship and for families is a unique challenge. Few things are more rewarding than supporting our basketball and baseball teams. Sponsorship can include providing popcorn and soda to our vets and their families or renting out the party deck. Please contact us for more information or give now and let us use the funds as appropriate.
There are obviously many other ways to support our veterans. Please feel free to contact us for a list of preferred items or if you have any other questions or ideas. Call at 937-775-5553 or email us at vmc@wright.edu.
GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.
