Relief Efforts For Gulf Coast Hurricane Victims

  • Three different student organizations (American Meteorological Society, NAACP and University Christian Fellowship) raised a total of $5,385 in cash contributions that were donated to the American Red Cross and the Mennonite Disaster Service. On October 29, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be collecting cash donations for hurricane relief at the Millersville-Mansfield football game and donating the collections to the American Red Cross.
  • The Community Service Office collected non-monetary donations (clothing, hygiene kits, non-perishable food, etc.) valued at $4,760 and provided them to Lancaster area organizations working on Gulf Coast relief efforts. The University Police department collected spare uniforms and other equipment and donated them to police officers working in Mississippi.
  • The Community Service office and University Christian Fellowship are planning a 2006 spring break trip to the Gulf Coast for students wanting to participate in relief efforts. Their trip will be under the auspices of the American Red Cross and the Mennonite Disaster Service.
  • The American Democracy Project Steering Committee is serving as a clearing house for curricular projects to assist Gulf Coast victims. These projects to date are as follows:
    • a class offered by the Social Work Department is currently collecting donations of non-monetary contributions for hurricane victims;
    • the student organization for English majors will be sponsoring a film festival during the 05-06 academic year with proceeds to be donated to relief efforts;
    • the Center for Disaster Research and Education and the History Department co-sponsored a forum on campus to discuss the economic, political, environmental and social impact of the hurricanes;
    • the Center for Disaster Research and Education also received a National Science Foundation supplemental grant to send a team of three faculty and three student researchers to Louisiana and Mississippi to interview emergency managers in an effort to learn what management strategies were successful and unsuccessful and what practices should be changed based on experiences with the two hurricanes. Their findings will be reported at the annual Natural Hazards Center Workshop and distributed to governmental agencies responsible for relief efforts.