IU Northwest Student Leaders Collect Donations for RedHawk Relief for Haiti

Ten-dollar donations sought for earthquake relief; drive continues through Homecoming Celebration on Saturday, Feb. 6 indiana-university-northwest

Indiana University Northwest student leaders from the Student Government Association (SGA) and a host of other student organizations, in cooperation with the American Red Cross of Northwest Indiana and the Lake Area United Way, is working this week to collect donations for Haitian earthquake relief. The effort, dubbed “RedHawk Relief for Haiti: A Week of Giving,” is aimed at raising money in support of relief efforts in that shattered nation, which suffered a devastating earthquake on Jan. 12.

Fundraising began Monday and will continue through Saturday, Feb. 6, when students will set up a donation table during the 2010 Homecoming Celebration in the Savannah Center. Anyone who donates $10 to the effort will receive a free “Live United” T-shirt. Anyone making a smaller donation will receive red and blue ribbons that symbolize the Red Cross, the United Way, and the Haitian flag. Donation tables have been set up in Moraine Student Center, Hawthorn Hall and Marram Hall, and will be staffed from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day.

Saturday’s homecoming games begin at 5 p.m. Tickets are available at the door or in advance through the Office of Student Life and Athletics in Savannah 217.

In helping to organize this donation drive, the SGA and its president, Jessica Flores, convened a meeting with the leadership of all other campus student organizations to discuss how best to make a contribution to the Haiti relief effort. This meeting resulted in the creation of the IU Northwest Collaborative Leadership Alliance. This group has committed to work not only on Haiti relief but also on future campus initiatives.

“RedHawk Relief for Haiti” has been supported and overseen by Director of Student Life and Athletics Charles Gary, Ph.D., and Student Life Coordinator Scott Fulk.

“I’m very proud of our students for taking the initiative and following through on their commitment to this project,” Gary said. “The students have shown great compassion for the people of Haiti, and we encourage the members of our campus community to follow their example and support this effort.”

Deb Thomas, Ph.D., executive director of the IU Northwest Center for Urban Regional Excellence, is the faculty advisor to SGA. She commended Flores and the many other student leaders whose efforts helped make “RedHawk Relief for Haiti” possible.

“Truly, our students are leading the way,” Thomas said. “I take great comfort in knowing that our region’s future, and its present, are in the caring and capable hands of our student leaders.”

All proceeds from “RedHawk Relief for Haiti: A Week of Giving” will go to support the Haitian relief efforts of the Red Cross and the United Way.