Student Veterans at MCC to host open house for newly renovated resource center
McHenry County College will host a grand reopening of the Student Veterans Resource Center Thursday, Nov. 10, immediately following the annual Veterans Day ceremony, through 6 p.m.
The MCC student veterans received a $10,000 grant last spring as part of a nationwide Vet Center Initiative by Student Veterans of America and The Home Depot Foundation to support veteran centers on college campuses. With this grant, the center was tripled in size and furnished with new academic and student support resources.
"We are proud of the support we have received from the SVA, Crystal Lake Home Depot, and our community, and we would like to share this open house with everyone in the community, as well as with faculty staff and board members," said Loreen Keller, Ed.D., interim dean for Humanities & Social Sciences, who also serves as the veterans' program administrator at MCC.
The grant monies went toward remodeling and refurnishing a larger existing space on campus for the student veterans' center, which was established to meet the needs of a growing number of veterans coming to MCC after leaving the military. The SVA chapter and its activities had outgrown its initial space on its opening day in 2013, and space needs have only continued to grow, Keller said. Student veterans previously gathered and worked in faculty preparation areas and often waited for scarce equipment and resources in the former space.
The center welcomes up to 300 monthly visits by student veterans who attend college classes at MCC. During the 2015-2016 school year, an average of 184 student veterans visited the center each month. Services include: assistance with college registration, Veterans Assistance Commission claims, peer mentoring, and resources for housing. In addition, wellness advocacy - including access to Post Traumatic Stress counseling - nutrition and volunteerism are emphasized.
"Shortly after the SVA chapter at MCC received the grant, Boss Office Products Inc. of Crystal Lake, offered a team to help with the renovation for free. Rick Boss, a Vietnam veteran, and Debbie Boss, the company owner, worked with student veterans who volunteered their time to create a bigger and more productive space for MCC student veterans," Keller said.
Members of Team Depot, volunteer employees from the Crystal Lake store, were integral to the design and implementation of the remodeling.
The open house is free and open to the public.
For information about the Student Veterans Resource Center at MCC, contact Lori Keller at (815) 455-8947.