StFX students launch campaign to support Haiti
A group of StFX students, stunned by the devastation of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti on Jan. 12, have banded together to launch a campaign to raise funds to help the estimated three million people in need of emergency aid.
Over the next three weeks, the StFX students hope to raise $20,000 for three organizations that the Canadian government has committed to matching donations dollar for dollar up until Feb. 12.
Mike Mason, a marketing student who’s running the campaign’s social media and marketing side, says the idea initiated by student Mitch Ogilvy has pulled in students from across campus ranging from varsity athletes to Students’ Union.
“Every single person who showed up to our meeting shared a common vision. This is a crisis. They’re human beings. Their lives are at stake. We have to do something,” Mike says.
“As aid groups and governments scramble to send tons of disaster relief to the impoverished Caribbean nation, we can help,” the students say on their blog.
Different students are running different aspects of the campaign, and Mike says it is neat they are able to use their formal education as a background.
The students have a number of upcoming events planned including:
• Taking donations at the door of The Inn during wing night on Wednesday, Jan. 20th
• Collecting donations at the varsity hockey game at the Keating Centre against Saint Mary’s University on Friday, Jan. 22
• A bottle drive on campus and around the Town of Antigonish on Saturday, Jan. 23.
• They’re also planning a yes or no referendum question during the upcoming Students’ Union election to support a $2 donation per student. This could result in upwards of an $8,000 donation.
Though they haven’t organized it, Mike says they are also helping advertise a benefit concert at Piper’s Pub on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
Proceeds collected through the campaign will be directed towards:
• Partners in Health: Stand With Haiti. PIH has been working on the ground in Haiti for over 20 years. They are funding an effort to provide emergency aid.
• The Canadian Red Cross: Providing emergency medical aid to Haitians in the most earthquake effected areas.
• Doctors Without Borders: An international medical humanitarian organization working in more than 60 countries to assist people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe.
For updates and more news, the students can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=408277135550&ref=ts. They are on Twitter at @xhaiti, and follow their blog at http://www.xhaiti.blogspot.com/.