Haiti relief efforts get a hand from the WUSTL community

Aid organizations and individuals throughout the world are coming to the aid of Haiti after a devastating earthquake ravaged the nation Jan. 12.

Members of the WUSTL community are pitching in as well, helping to raise money and taking part in the relief efforts.

More than 380 people have donated money through a Student Union online fund-raiser, raising more than $6,500 as of Feb. 8. The group has raised more than $15,000 in total from online contributions and fund-raisers by student groups.

“Students should be involved with this effort because the people of Haiti desperately need our help,” said Jeff Nelson, Student Union president. “The university’s mission statement challenges us to be useful members of a global society, meaning we must have compassion and concern for the hardship of people beyond our immediate borders.”

Nelson said Student Union will continue to raise money until it reaches a goal of $20,000, which he hopes will be accomplished in the next few weeks.

Student Union contributed $500 to the effort from its own fund-raising account and will contribute an additional dollar for every $40 raised.

Congress of the South 40 sold reusable water bottles to freshmen the week of Jan. 25 for a minimum $5 donation and brought in nearly $500, which will go into the larger Student Union fund. The group plans to sell water bottles again next week to upperclassmen.

Graduate student Kelly Scott, who is pursuing a dual master’s degree in business administration and social work, is an intern with Meds & Food for Kids working at the grass-roots level on fund-raising, soliciting donations from companies, arranging events and helping St. Louis-area teachers raise money for Haiti.

Meds & Food for Kids was founded in 2004 by Patricia Wolff, M.D., professor of clinical pediatrics at the School of Medicine, after she saw that medications and small amounts of the local staples rice, beans and corn weren’t enough to nourish children back to health.

The nonprofit organization focuses on eradicating child malnutrition in Haiti through developing, producing and distributing highly nutritious foods including Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food called “Medika Mamba”.