Several weeks ago, the idea of initiating a fundraiser to assist the people of Haiti was introduced. With the help of faculty advisors, students from the Operation Hope Club and the Culture Committee came together to spearhead a campus-wide fundraiser. Fran Mahoney, Director of Health Services, who has friends and connections in Haiti, suggested we raise money which could be sent to an organization assisting the relief efforts in Haiti. Both clubs agreed that this would be the best possible course of action. Then, Joseph '11 initiated communication between Operation Hope Advisor Daniel Dietz and his father who works for a non-profit organization which has been doing humanitarian work in Haiti for many years. It was decided that the money raised during this fundraiser would be collected and presented to his organization to be used as necessary to assist the people of Haiti.
The students had a variety of ideas about how to raise money and they decided on four phases. The first phase was to have a "dress down" day in which the students would donate a certain amount to "earn" the privilege of dressing more casually for a day. The second phase was to have several students tour the dorms and collect loose change from the students and dorm supervisors. The third phase was to collect recyclable cans and bottles. At this point, the Green Team took the steps to put up posters all over campus to remind students to place their recyclable cans and bottles in designated collection bins. The fourth phase was introduced by Athletic Director Mark Szafnicki, and will consist of the sale of t-shirts celebrating the schools' wrestling team, who recently became league champions. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of these shirts will be donated to the Haiti fundraiser.
So far, with phases one and two completed, $684 has been raised, far surpassing the initial goal of $500.
Faculty advisors involved in the fundraiser were: Operation Hope – Daniel Dietz and Marykate Russo; Culture Committee – Thomas Giallanza, Kirk Rhodes, Ramon Suarez and Heidi Baust; and Green Team – Lynn Ottaway, Ben Duffy, Brad Rausch and Jay Wright.
