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Students from the University of Maine came together in the Wade Center on Feb. 4 to discuss ways students and the local community could work together to support people in Haiti.
Many campus organizations have attempted to lend a hand, but the group believes that campus unification is key in making fundraising more efficient.
“We need to find out the most effective way to raise campus awareness as well as money for the cause,” said Christopher Jander, one of the meeting’s organizers.
Jander, Allison Doe and Danielle Chrissman are the main organizers behind the fundraiser. They met while working individually to raise awareness and seek help for the people of Haiti. The passion to help in any way possible led the three to create one large fundraising team.
“The difference between our approach and the way other fundraisers are typically run is that we’re just trying our best to get everyone involved,” Doe said. “Not necessarily by organizing one event, but a bunch of events with as many groups involved as possible.”
The ideas and motives behind the early unification of these three students evolved into the underlying themes for their entire movement: getting as many people involved as possible in order to help people living in the midst of turmoil occurring in Haiti.
“We are looking to create more of a movement than a group,” Chrissman said. She said the group is “working to unite the campus and help a country in need.”
The group believes that if students were educated about the destruction in Haiti, they would be more likely to participate in the fundraisers that will be seen on campus within the next few months.
Many organizations have already decided to work with the team, such as Tau Kappa Epsilon, Chi Omega, the Maine Outing Club and the Central American Service Association. Doe said individuals are welcome to participate with the group fundraising. Although the group has just started, 20 people attended the meeting Thursday.
During the meeting, various fundraising ideas were proposed. Ideas ranged from smaller ventures such as bottle drives and change jars to larger endeavors like camping on the mall or hosting a speed-dating event.
All money raised will be put into a University Credit Union gift account and will be distributed among various charitable organizations, such as the Red Cross, that are assisting the relief effort in Haiti. The group also intends to seek out local businesses willing to cooperate and donate to the cause. The community and the faculty of UMaine are encouraged to help and can donate directly to the student union account via debit or credit cards. The form of the initial fundraiser has not yet been decided, but the group said opportunities to help would occur throughout the coming semester. One fundraiser discussed at the meeting has already been realized by Chi Omega. The sisters will sell the flowers from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday in the Student Recreation and Fitness Center.
The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that shook Haiti on Jan. 12 was one of the worst in the country’s history. Some reports have the death toll at more than 200,000, and more than 300,000 people have been left injured. More than 1 million people were left homeless.
The group intends to hold similar meetings every other week to track the progress of Haiti relief funds on campus. A FirstClass folder will be posted for the group on Monday. For more information, e-mail christopher.jander@umit.maine.edu or allison.doe@umit.maine.edu.
Bangor Daily News