Washington & Jefferson College

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College men’s lacrosse team recently held a week long drive in support of Operation Troop Appreciation October 24-30.

The W&J lacrosse players hosted a fundraiser to benefit Operation Troop Appreciation, a local charity designed to provide products for troops from western Pennsylvania stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

Throughout the week, the team received over 400 donations, including nearly 200 different non-perishable food items.  Additional items donated were personal hygiene products, clothing, sports equipment and a tent. 

Senior men’s lacrosse captain and defenseman Ryan Cronin (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) is a Senior Cadet in the W&J ROTC program, while 2009 graduate and former attacker Michael Frank is currently a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. 

Events held through the week to raise awareness for Operation Troop Appreciation included a talk by Lieutenant Colonel John Dowling, the military liaison at W&J and member of the Combat Stress Intervention program.  He spoke about the psychological challenges of being overseas on October 25th in the Howard J. Burnett Center. 

Senior goalie Matt Landfried (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) partnered with the National Honor Society and Students In Action to raise goods at Chartiers-Houston High School.  Landfried is a student intern at the high school, located 10 minutes north of Washington, this semester. 

The week culminated with a tournament for local high school and middle school teams on October 29th and 30th at Alexandre Stadium.  All 15 teams combined raised $1,000 to the charity.

Since Operation Troop Appreciation was founded as a non-profit 501 (c) 3, in July 2004, the organization has provided “wish list” items for almost 100,000 troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout the Middle East. The letters and emails received from these grateful soldiers and Marines inspire our all-volunteer foundation.  Visit www.OperationTroopAppreciation.org for more information or to make a secure on-line monetary donation.