Veteran and ROTC students run Oaken Bucket game ball for troops
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Veterans and ROTC students will run with the game ball 110 miles from Indiana University to Purdue for the Nov. 27 Old Oaken Bucket football game to raise money to send supplies to troops overseas.
Most of the run will be along U.S. Highway 231. The event will start Nov. 26 at Bloomington, where IU ROTC students will run the first 34 miles before handing the ball over to Purdue ROTC students in Cloverdale at about noon. Purdue ROTC then will cover the next 34 miles before stopping in Crawfordsville. Members of the Purdue Veterans Student Organization will run the final leg the next day, delivering the ball to the Purdue football team at the northeast corner of Ross-Ade Stadium about two hours before kick off.
Runners will be wearing their respective university colors as well as colors representing each branch of service.
The goal of their effort, called Operation Bedding, is to raise funds and supplies to enhance the quality of life for military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Bryan Morris, vice president of the Purdue Veteran Students Organization . The program buys or collects items that provide the comforts of home, such as pillows, sheets, socks, snacks and other daily necessities.
Donations may be sent to or dropped off at Purdue Veterans Student Organization, Purdue University, Stewart Center, Box 520, 128 Memorial Mall, West Lafayette IN 47907-2034.
Writer: Jeanne Norberg, 765-494-2084, jnorberg@purdue.edu
Source: Bryan Morris, 808-551-4096, morris55@purdue.edu