As Veterans Week approaches at Eastern, students and members of the community who want to show support for the military can find their outlet in the Black Orchid Society.

Named after the official flower of its brother organization, the Royal Order of the Black Nights, the Black Orchid Society is a social society at Eastern that provides students, faculty and staff the opportunity to support veterans, active duty military personnel, and their families on campus and within the community.

The organization, founded in Fall 2011 by Stephanie Hutton, a senior education major, and Ann Boehlefeld, a senior general studies major, sponsors activities to raise money and morale for both those who have served in the military and those who love someone who has served.

“We have friends and family members who were members of the service, and we wanted to be able to give back to those who have served, and to show respect for everything they’ve done,” Hutton said.

There are currently 14 members in the Black Orchid Society, but as they are a fairly new organization, they welcome any new members. The group is currently in the process of making flyers to be hung around campus, hoping to create interest and recruit new members.

The society would like to sponsor activities that do not involve raising money; however, fundraising enables the society to purchase materials for their various projects.

The society will have a table set up from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union welcoming students to sign a quilt to honor service members.

“We’re making quilt squares that people can use to write messages to veterans,” Hutton said. “We’re going to make them into lap quilts and send them off to veterans’ hospitals and nursing homes that house veterans.”

Making the quilt squares was only possible after a bake sale at Coleman Hall earlier this semester to raise funds to purchase the materials.

The society is also planning other fundraising activities for the school year.

“We’re looking at possibly doing a spaghetti supper in the spring semester with a silent auction to raise money, but right now we’re focused on doing things that don’t cost money,” Hutton said.

The society chooses to focus on activities that do not cost money because there are a lot of military support groups around the country that do not need funding. What they really need are morale-raisers like letters and care packages, Hutton said.

And even though next week is Veterans Week at Eastern, the Black Orchid Society feels that veterans should always be celebrated.

“We feel that every day should be a reason to give back to so many who served, are currently serving, or those who gave their lives for our country and freedom,” Hutton said.

Members of the organization share a strong bond and friendship that has developed and deepened over time, Boehlfeld said.

“My favorite thing about the group is being able to hang out with a lot of people I normally wouldn’t be able to hang out with,” she said. “It’s nice to be able to hang out with people from different backgrounds and different experiences in life.”

The Black Orchid Society meets twice a month. Their next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 13 in the basement of Thomas Hall.

Students can contact Hutton at [email protected] for more information.

Erik Jensen can be contacted at 581-2812 or [email protected].