Photo by Chris Sykes The new leadership of Camptown Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1941, from left, seated, Senior Commander Franklin L. Prather, Quartermaster Penny Register and Commander Louis Johnson, are joined by fellow veteran Chuck Jeter, center rear, who is also a member of the Prince Hall Freemasons, and two patrons who came into post headquarters on Chestnut Avenue on Saturday, Sept. 3, to put a down payment on renting the group's hall for a future family party.
The new leadership of Camptown Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1941, from left, seated, Senior Commander Franklin L. Prather, Quartermaster Penny Register and Commander Louis Johnson, are joined by fellow veteran Chuck Jeter, center rear, who is also a member of the Prince Hall Freemasons, and two patrons who came into post headquarters on Chestnut Avenue on Saturday, Sept. 3, to put a down payment on renting the group’s hall for a future family party.
IRVINGTON, NJ — The members of Camptown Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 1941 in Irvington served free breakfast to the public at their Chestnut Avenue headquarters Saturday, Sept. 3.
And now, just in time for the start of the 2016-2017 school year, the new leadership at the post is offering local students the chance to participate in an essay contest, in order to get the new school year off to a good start.
“We have an essay contest for children in sixth through eighth grades and then we have another contest for ninth- through 12th-graders,” said Post Commander Lewis Johnson on Saturday, Sept. 3. “These contests are nationwide, but we’re starting off right here local at the post. The one for the high school is $30,000 toward college; the one for sixth through eighth grades, the maximum prize is $5,000 and the lowest prize is $500. This has to be submitted by Nov. 1.”
Johnson said the VFW is offering an essay contest before the public school year officially begins in Irvington because “It’s preparing them for the long school year ahead of them. They’ll get a jumpstart on all the other kids. Might as well be prepared.”
Sr. Post Commander Franklin L. Prather runs a mentoring program at the VFW building on Saturdays after the post serves free breakfast. He said the educational component of the program is important because the smarter the soldiers, the better they will serve their country.
“We have a mentoring program on Saturday mornings as well, for young males, from 9 a.m. to noon,” said Johnson. “We usually keep the guys until about 6 p.m. We try to teach them that life is more than just something to do. You need to think for yourself. The thing that we’re trying to get these kids to realize is that they have to be somebody for themselves.”
Knowledge is power, Prather said.
“We teach them some geography, some history, some religion and basically some philosophy courses and encourage them that they have to become better citizens and (find) a better way of life, because a lot of the things that they learn in the classroom are not accurate, so what we try to do is be more informative,” said Prather on Saturday, Sept. 3. “The more educated the individual, the better the soldier will be. As an educated soldier, he or she will be able to do more things outside of their military operational specialty.”
Prather and Johnson said “serve” is the key word, when it comes to the Camptown VFW. That’s why offering Irvington students a chance to earn a scholarship before the school year begins is a good thing.
“We just did a back-to-school book bag giveaway, where we went around, door to door, handing out book bags filled with goodies,” Johnson said. “We believe in reaching out to the community to get them involved with the post.”
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