At the far end of campus, behind the 700 Building, lies the Yuba College Veterans Resource Center. If you aren’t a veteran it is likely you have no idea we have a resource center for veterans, let alone know where it is, but student veterans Sam Delaney and Mike Bradford who are employees in the Veterans Resource Center here on campus spend a good deal of time here. On this day, they were preparing for an auction event which was held on campus at the beginning of November.
The center used to be in the 100 building catty corner to the counseling department. The space was wide open and didn’t allow student veterans to have a space dedicated to their needs. So they moved into their new building to offer the vets a more private space.
Computers are available for student veterans to use, and student staff members can assist with finding veterans the resources they need to continue
school and get the benefits they are entitled to. Student Veteran and certifying official Tammy Pack also secured a copy of each textbook for the veterans on campus to be able to use when money is tight. This is an important resource with book cost reaching over $300 for science and technology texts.
Pack manages much of the day to day in the resource center ever since the former full time staff member, Tom Pitock, moved on. She is doing what she can to make the best for our veterans on campus but says, “The computers are old and need to be updated. They can’t run many of the programs our vets need and I would really like to be able to offer laptops that they could check out and take home.” Currently the school library has only a limited number of laptops that are available for check out to students and trying to get one can be a difficult game of timing.
Pack shares, “The Veterans Resource Center is not currently funded with State or Federal Funds. Meaning, the supplies, tables and chairs, TV, couches, food and drinks, décor, textbooks, etc are all from donations. So these fundraisers go a long way to help us increase our services to the veteran student population.”The fundraiser Pack is referring to is the dinner and auction Delaney and Bradford were preparing for which was held November 4, 2017. The Student Veterans Association event was well attended by over 80 guests and was decorated in WWII era style with guests encouraged to dress accordingly.
Items like a signed football and a lovely handmade quilt were among items up for auction to support the center. While the evening was an overall success, the center still needs additional funds that were not raised and Pack and her crew are always looking for ways to boost donations.
I hold both an AS in Social and Behavioral Sciences and an AA in English from Yuba College. I have been on the editorial board of Flumes, literary arts journal, and contribute to the publication of The Western Farm Worker. No one knows what the future holds!
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