Seton Hall's award winning radio station, WSOU, recently joined forces with "Define the Meaning," a music and lifestyle magazine taking initiative to ship CDs to troops overseas, as a part of Operation Gratitude.
"Define the Meaning," which is geared towards fans of punk and hardcore music, is issued quarterly.
The magazine began working closely with Operation Gratitude in an effort to distribute music to troops all over the world.
Operation Gratitude is a non-profit organization that is completely funded by donations and operated by volunteers with the mission of sending care packages to soldiers, marines and other militarily populated areas.
"WSOU's student staff has consistently taken part in community service projects and initiatives," Mark Maben, WSOU's General Manager, said in a press release. "We have sent CDs to the troops before through the Operation Metal project."
In the past, WSOU's Operation Metal projects have shipped nearly 10,000 CDs to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Define the Meaning" Executive Managing Editor Karen Mitchell contacted WSOU managers about getting involved with Operation Gratitude. The WSOU staff recently sent their first box of donations overseas.
The box consisted of nearly 300 CDs, some of which were personal mixes donated by community or staff members while others were tapings of shows done by station disc jockeys.
There are currently three more boxes being filled with donations.
Joan Guetti, interim Dean of Arts and Sciences, noted how proud she was of WSOU's efforts with Operation Gratitude which are efforts that honor the tradition of community service at Seton Hall.
"By collecting and donating a variety of CDs to send to our troops serving overseas, WSOU not only helps them stay in touch with the current music scene, but it also lets our troops know they have not been forgotten here at home," Guetti said.
WSOU has also teamed up with the Seton Hall University Day planning committee in the hopes of creating a large CD donation drive during the festivities.
Meghan Codey, Assistant Director of Special Events at Seton Hall, said that the CD donation drive has officially been added to the list of events and is being publicized on the University Day webpage, as well as the University Day Facebook page.
"Our hope is that on our main day of events, Saturday, October 2, we will have a wide audience participating in the drive to help make it a success," Codey said.
Codey has also been in touch with the South Orange UPS store about the possibility of having boxes donated to the drive for holding CDs and shipping them.
Codey called WSOU's efforts in Operation Gratitude "something to be proud of," and said that the University Day staff is more than excited to work with and support WSOU.
Those wishing to donate CDs to Operation Gratitude prior to University Day can do so by dropping the items off at WSOU in the main lobby.
The station is currently collecting donations in the main lobby area, and those willing to donate can buzz up to the station and drop off their donation in the designated box outside the elevator.
"We are glad to continue providing music for the troops," Maben said.
Samantha Desmond can be reached at samantha.desmond@student.shu.edu.
