Is someone in need? Call Battle Corps to the rescue. They organized and ran six projects ranging from Homeless Hygiene Operation all the way to cleaning up the sides of Columbia’s roads.

What is Battle Corps? Battle Corps was started in the first year of Battle High Schools opening in 2013. Kaiya Kelley, Madison Null, and Veronica Fuhlage started Battle Corps as their EEE project. Their mission is to provide opportunities for students to volunteer and help their community. Battle Corps has done just that.

Battle Corps organized the First Annual Food Drive at Battle High School. The class with the highest donation amount wins a catered breakfast, hand made by Battle Corps Members. That class was also awarded a get out of a tardy for free card. Battle Corps raised over 350 pounds of food. “I am really happy that our first food drive raised over 350 pounds of food. I can’t wait to do it again next year.” Madi Null, Battle Corps Founder.

Battle Corps hosted a drive for CRIBS, which is a program at Douglas High School for student parents to give their kids to stay while they go to school. The drive was collecting donations to build go-packs. Go-packs are bags that have the necessary items to take care of an infant or baby. The student can grab one if they are in a dangerous situation and keep it with no questions asked.

“Clean-Up Columbia is one of my favorite events we do each year.” Kaiya Kelley, Battle Corps Founder. Clean-Up Columbia is an event that Battle Corps has done each year and plans to continue doing it each year. Each year in April the team meets at Battle High School with their matching t-shirts. They then divide up the trash bags and gloves between members. Battle Corps members were assigned the road leading to Battle High School up to Lake of the Woods Rd. It took them around 2 hours to clean the side of the road of all trash and debris.

In years prior Battle Corps had only helped with the H2O Drive, which is the Homeless Hygiene Operation. The mission was to provide necessary hygiene items to the homeless. The drive collects deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, soap, and body wash. This year Battle Corps ran the drive and collected nearly 850+ items. Battle Corps met on a Thursday in April to package the H2O packs. The class with the most donated items won a pizza party for their class.

On Sunday, May 1, Battle Corps volunteered to handle the Freedom Walk put on by Anica Contreras. Battle Corps members checked people in and got their shirts to them. Battle Corps members were there to answer any questions. On Sunday, the Battle Corps members met at Bethel Park with their matching Freedom Walk t-shirts ready to take on the challenge.

The last event that Battle Corps did was a survey for Youth Community Coalition. The survey was to raise awareness of policies against E-Cigarettes. The survey was designed by Youth Community Coalition’s own, Dr. Ron Rowe. The Survey was provided Youth Community Coalition campaign to show teens that E-Cigarettes are bad.

Battle Corps has done quite a bit in their 3 years of operation. Battle Corps is accomplishing their mission. They want to provide opportunities for students to volunteer, and they’ve done just that. They have raised a lot of goods for CRIBS, Homeless Hygiene, and the Food Drive.