COOL RIDGE, W. Va. (WVVA) -The Southern Coalfields Alumni and Big Green Club supports students in Raleigh, Summers, Fayette and Wyoming Counties who want to pursue their dreams at Marshall University. To fund that effort, they turned to Jeep enthusiasts.
“We just realized that there was such a Jeep following here in Southern West Virginia, and we just decided to try to jump on the bandwagon, so to speak, and three years ago, we started a little Jeep Invasion, and it has grown every year…” says Amanda Ashley, vice president of Marshall University’s Southern Coalfields Alumni & Big Green Club.
This year, the Southern West Virginia Jeep Invasion returned to the Weathered Ground Brewery, bringing support from various businesses and organizations which set up as vendors, alongside Jeep owners from around the area.
“We love going to Jeep events. Both me and my wife work from home, so on the weekends when we have stuff like this, we’re out, and we love doing this stuff, and riding trails with these people and just Jeep events. …You meet new people and, you know, new good people,” says Vernon Giroud, a member of Country Roads Jeep Club & South West Virginia Jeep Club.
The money raised here helps the Southern Coalfields Alumni and Big Green Club provide a $1500 scholarship to a student from each of their four counties every year, with more funds going to Marshall University to be used for more scholarships for area kids. That support for local students is another draw for some Jeep owners.
“…Their Beckley chapter is very big, and we’ve supported them for the past five years, so we just happened to have a Jeep and thought, ’hey, we’re going to run out to Weathered Ground and support a good cause,” says David Chinn, a first time participant.
Ashley says this support is very important for local students, with everything they raise here going back to this community.
“…Everybody is feeling the crunch; groceries have gone up, gas has gone up, everything’s a little higher than it was and students should be able to chase their dreams and not worry about having debt when they go into college, so the more money we raise, then the more scholarship money that we can hand out to students in this area,” says Ashley.
Jeep owners we spoke to encourage others with Jeeps to come out when the Southern West Virginia Jeep invasion returns the third weekend of August next year. Ashley says even those who aren’t into Jeeps can enjoy this invasion, adding that there’s something for everybody here.
If you’d like to learn more about the work done by the Southern Coalfields Alumni and Big Green Club, she says you can go their Facebook page or send them an email at musoutherncoalfields@gmail.com
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