Ithaca College

At a meeting on Thursday, September 8, the campus community came together to begin planning Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Here are ways you can get involved. If you are interested in serving on any of the planning committees for these projects, e-mail Deb Mohlenhoff at katrinarelief@ithaca.edu.

Fund-Raising Events and Initiatives--Current

ALS-ARC “Strive for Five”

The African-Latino Society (ALS) is collaborating with the American Red Cross at Ithaca College to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina in the “Strive to Give 5” campaign. The goal is to have every person on the IC campus contribute $5. There are 7,000 people on campus, so we anticipate raising $35,000.

Donation tables are in the Campus Center lobby and the Textor hallway; they will also be at home football games.

Fund-Raising Events and Initiatives--Planned

1. A Mardi Gras party, with non-alcoholic beverages, Cajun-themed food, and jazz music; proceeds will benefit the relief effort.

2. Adopting a college or elementary school in the area: there are not many details available right now regarding this type of effort. This would be a good project and is under discussion for the spring semester as we see what needs emerge from the area.

3. A benefit concert combining local musical groups and talent, tentatively scheduled for the end of October.

4. SOS -- Songs of Support: Ithacappella is coordinating a statewide effort of a cappella concerts to occur on October 1 across New York.

5. Storytelling Relief Response –similar to Story Tsunami, coordinated by Lee-Ellen Marvin, speech communication. More information can be found at http://storytsunami.org/.

6. Jazz concert: scheduled for September 20 and coordinated by Ithaca alum Jennifer Lawrence Birnbaum ’94.

If you are interested in joining a planning committee for any of these events, e-mail us at katrinarelief@ithaca.edu or call 274-1380.

Note: We are hoping to divert some of the money we raise to the campus Emergency Relief Fund, housed in the Office of the Chaplains, to assist IC students, faculty, staff, and families who were directly affected.

Other Initiatives

Helping Transferred Students

The Peer Volunteer Corps (PVC) is taking the lead on getting incoming students settled on campus. They will be working with the students to determine food, clothing, book, and other needs and providing assistance to get them settled and caught up on campus. Stephanie Simon of the Peer Volunteer Corps and Deb Mohlenhoff, their adviser, are coordinating these efforts.

Travel to the Area

The Center for Student Leadership and Involvement and the Peer Volunteer Corps (which already sponsor alternative spring break trips) are looking into the possibility of a coordinated spring break trip to the affected area. This is still a LARGE unknown and will not be confirmed until November. Alternative spring break applications will be available October 10 from the CSLI website (https://www.ithaca.edu/csli/) and are due December 1. Applications for the trip are on a first-come, first-served basis and are $250 per person, with a $50 nonrefundable deposit due at the time the application is turned in. Students may not be given their first choice of sites.

The Peer Volunteer Corps will also be coordinating a campuswide CAN AND BOTTLE DRIVE, with all proceeds going to offset the costs of spring break trips to the area. The money will be split with Habitat for Humanity trip participants. In addition, Habitat for Humanity is planning a trip to the affected area and will be working with the CSLI office.

Note: There is no need to travel independently to the area. The American Red Cross provides disaster training to anyone interested in formally volunteering. Please visit http://www.redcross.org/ for more information.

Staying Connected to Hurricane Relief Efforts

Join the Ithaca College Katrina Relief list-serve at http://lists.ithaca.edu/. The list is open to all interested Ithaca College faculty, staff, and students and will be used to update and disseminate information regarding relief efforts. The list-serve name is katrinarelief@lists.ithaca.edu and you can subscribe to it at the website mentioned above.

We have also established a dedicated e-mail address for the College’s coordinating committee at katrinarelief@ithaca.edu. Use this to send us ideas for fund-raising or to ask questions about campus initiatives.