Student organizations unite for Haiti relief
Florida State University students responded to the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti with tremendous fundraising efforts from a many student organizations. Noles for Haiti, an SGA ad hoc organization, aims to bring everyone together in one effort.
Lawrence Gonzalez, President of the United Haitian Students of Florida, is working on organizing this project.
“It’s to bring all these student organizations and relief efforts together so it’s not as spaced out,” said Gonzalez. “There will be one calendar of events so everyone will know how they can contribute and when they can contribute.”
The United Haitian Students of Florida brought over 100 members to Miami to lend a hand in packing donations to be shipped to Haiti. Gonzalez remembers that other volunteers in Miami were excited to see such a large group of young people donating their time and energy to the labor-intensive work.
“It has to do with the psyche of the people,” said Gonzalez. “Everything that we hold dear was crumbled. We have to be a little bit more mindful about how we can push ourselves to the next level.”
For students who feel inspired to travel to Haiti to help with the relief effort, Gonzalez recommended working with local organizations like Habitat for Humanity to gain skills they can apply in Haiti when traveling becomes more accessible.
Since many students don’t have the budget to travel, student organizations such as the Caribbean Students Association and The Global Haiti Initiative offer alternative ways to aid Haiti.
After visiting Haiti, Florida State student Jesse O’Shea created The Global Haiti Initiative, a network of universities working on creating progressive and sustainable change in the country. The FSU chapter working with the Southeastern Community Blood Center organized a blood drive during market Wednesday in the student union on January 20. For every pint of blood donated for use in the Tallahassee community, five dollars was given to Haiti relief.
“A lot more students are coming out today,” said Ryan Festler, an SCBC technician. “You can see outside the bus there are at least ten people lined up at all times.”
The Caribbean Students Association are collecting nonperishable food items, toiletries, and clothing on a continual basis. Working with UNICEF via the Florida Legislative Office, the CSA will be transporting these goods to Miami by truck to be sent to Haiti. Students and community members interested in donating can bring their goods to the Student Activities Center in the Union.
Some organizations in Tallahassee are only accepting monetary donations, like the Red Cross and Salvation Army, CSA Vice President, Melissa Philips describes their motivation for collecting tangible goods, “There have been a lot of people who can’t necessarily donate money but they do have things that they can give but right now there’s nobody taking it.”
The CSA have been in contact with the Red Cross and Salvation Army in hopes to coordinate efforts to send even more goods to Haiti successfully. The CSA will also be allotting money from their other annual fundraising efforts to send to Haiti.
For those interested in the future of Haiti, the Sustainable Haiti conference this coming March 17-19 in Miami will cover everything from banking and tourism, to health solutions and infrastructure.
