Members of the South Halls Residence Association (SHRA) took quick action last week to help the victims of the Haitian earthquake, raising $735 by 2 p.m. Monday.
"My original goal was $100," Residence Life Coordinator Meghan Gaffney said. "I didn't really know what to expect, so to raise this much money was great."
And she's not stopping yet: Gaffney said she would like to continue the association's efforts this week and break $1,000.
On Thursday afternoon Gaffney said she came up with the idea of collecting donations for Haiti in Redifer Commons so students wouldn't have to walk far to donate. By Friday morning, 60 SHRA members had volunteered their time.
"It was important for us to show that, one, we care about this issue and, two, to give students an opportunity to do something 'at home,' " Gaffney said. "The HUB isn't far from here, but students don't always stop there. There's always a lot of traffic through here."
Members of SHRA cut out paper hands from various colors of construction paper for the project. Each donor wrote his or her name on a hand and then taped it to the windows inside Redifer Commons. SHRA is attempting to spell out "Hands 4 Haiti" with the paper hands.
"We're going to leave them up as a symbol of people's efforts to help," SHRA President Mike Stefanick (junior-computer engineering) said.
SHRA paired up with the Centre Communities Chapter of the American Red Cross to gather the donations. The money will then be sent through the Red Cross to Haiti.
Other various student organizations will also be collecting donations for the earthquake victims every day this week from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at tables in the HUB-Robeson Center.
Student leaders decided to pull together by uniting at one table in the HUB to make their efforts for Haiti stronger, said Judy Albin, assistant director of Residence Life.
