On the March: Blue Mountain Battalion Steps Up for the Community
Cadets carry PPE supplies.
Local ROTC cadets raise $3,000 for PPE supplies for local nonprofit organization
by Tony Moore; photos and video by Joe O'Neill
When most of the population sleeps, soldiers in the U.S. military are often up and active on a variety of missions and maneuvers. Recently, local ROTC cadets with the Blue Mountain Battalion gathered at Dickinson’s ROTC House to carry out a different kind of mission: packing up thousands of dollars’ worth of personal protect equipment purchased through an ROTC fundraiser.
Once the $3,000 worth of masks, gloves and sanitation supplies were collected and packed, the battalion—made up of cadets from Dickinson, Gettysburg College, Millersville University, Messiah College and Penn State Harrisburg—marched to local nonprofit Community CARES for drop-off.
The cadets were given a mission: Raise $100 each for the local community. But by the end of the fundraising stage, they had surpassed that number easily, raising $200 or $300 per cadet. The money was then pooled and the battalion contacted Dickinson's PPE distributor, purchasing about $3,000 of PPE in bulk.
To raise awareness, the 100 plus cadets then marched the four miles through Carlisle to Community CARES, which provides shelter for people facing homelessness and other resources to the community.
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Published October 5, 2020