While Penn State enrolls hundreds of students from areas affected by the Dec. 26 tsunami in Asia, there have been almost no reports of students who were affected by the disaster.

Negar Davis, director of international student services, said she has heard of only one student in India whose flight back to the United States was postponed.

"So far I have heard no reports of students who were directly impacted by the tsunami," Davis said.

However, Valerie Handunge (senior-advertising), who lived in Sri Lanka and attended high school there, is one such student impacted by the tsunami.

She waited for three days after the disaster to hear back from her family.

"It took a few days to get in touch with them," she said.

Handunge was especially thankful that her family was unharmed by the tsunami because some relatives lived as close as five kilometers away from the affected area.

However many of her close friends did not share the same fate.

"One of my friends lost both of her parents," she said.

Mary Anne Knapp, a therapist and coordinator of outreach for the Center for Counseling and Psychological Service (CAPS), said only one student came in seeking counseling, but the service will remain open for others.

"I would think if students have been

impacted directly, we will see some of them at some point," she said. "We always try to be ready."

Local residents and students have numerous options if they want to help bring hope back to tsunami survivors in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.

Bob Barry, emergency services director of the Centre Communities chapter of the American Red Cross, said donations to the Red Cross would be accepted in three ways.

People can donate money directly to the local chapter and designate the money as tsunami relief. The money would then be forwarded to the international center. People also could donate on the Internet at www.redcross.org or by calling 1-800-HELP-NOW, a toll-free number.

"The primary goal is to provide food distribution, vaccinations and health care, to provide relief supplies such as tents and hygiene tents and for emergency water and sanitation," Barry said.

The Centre Country Communities chapter of the Red Cross is a participating agency of the Centre County United Way.

Barry said that as of Jan. 7, the American public and Red Cross pledged $150 million in relief efforts.

He added that there are numerous other groups, including ones on campus, collecting donations for other international groups.

"A lot of money will be marked for long-term relief," Barry said. "So I don't think they'll be cutting off the monetary pipeline anytime soon."

Virginia Brown, executive director for the Centre Communities chapter of the Red Cross, said that in terms of checks coming directly into the office, the amount is around $8,000. This, however, does not yet include donations made at previous Penn State basketball games or last Sunday's wrestling match.

She said the Red Cross will eventually know how many people donated and how much.

"We do anticipate students who want to get involved," Brown said. "It may take a while for them to get up and running with everyone just coming back, but they will have ample time to participate."

People can also donate money by going to several local churches.

St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 109 McAllister St., has been accepting monetary donations for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), church business administrator Carl Boone said.

"This is an ongoing, working committee of the church that is experienced in these types of things and is able to get money where the need exists," he said.

Boone said the money going to UMCOR would be used for food and supplies in the affected areas.

"At this point, it's monetary donations," Boone said. "But we do have a missions commission that is active on hands-on things to discuss other options."

Faith United Church of Christ, 300 E. College Ave., works with the ecumenical agencies of the Church World Service (CWS).

The Rev. Diane Prosser said CWS has existed for about 50 years and is experienced in relief crises.

Like St. Paul's, donations by the Faith United Church of Christ will continue for a while because of the devastating aftermath and amount of aid needed.

"One of the strengths of CWS is that they really respect local people and services," Prosser said. "Obviously, this will be a long-term effort due to the rebuilding."

-Collegian staff writer Jackie Haber contributed to this report.