By Esther Cruz
Staff Writer

For the second time, Cal State Dominguez Hills will participate in the Adopt A US Soldier donation drive, encouraging the campus community to show support for our Armed Forces this holiday season.
Javier Diaz, a community officer for the college’s parking services department, started the drive back in 2014 with the idea to rally the campus community to help our service members.
Adopt a US Soldier is a non-profit organization that seeks volunteers and donors to help show their support to our men and women who fight for our freedom.
The organization allows donors to send anything they think a soldier might want or need.
Diaz shared how the idea came about of starting the drive.
“I have some friends that were in the Marine Corps, and I saw the advertisement for the program, and I found it interesting,” Diaz said.
The organization also offers Project Frontline, a service that allows people to help out a whole platoon.
“I have had four soldiers already since I have joined,” Diaz said. “I then saw there was this other program [Project Frontline] in which you can get people to help a whole platoon, so I decided to ask the campus community to join me by donating anything they wish.”
This is the second time Diaz has done the drive on campus. He stated that the first time he participated was around Easter, and this year, he wanted it to run through the holiday season.
“I wasn’t even planning on it until my friend Esther encouraged me to do it again this year,” Diaz said. “I thought it would be a great idea since the holiday season is approaching and many of them can’t make it home for the holidays.”
Diaz hopes this year will be as great a turnout as it was the first year he did it back in 2014.
To donate, the campus community is advised to drop off items at the Parking Services Office in the SCC building, Room 200.

(Diaz, posing with donation packages, ready to be shipped.)