IU students, faculty and organizations met last night in an attempt to pool their resources and share fund-raising strategies for Hurricane Katrina relief.\nThe IU Student Association, in an effort to prevent an overlap in charitable goals, organized the meeting, which spawned a number of ideas, including selling Mardi Gras beads, putting on benefit concerts and collecting money on campus. \nIUSA President Alex Shortle said though IUSA would not interfere with fund-raising campaigns, it did hope to centralize the effort in order to produce clear results. \n"With the tsunami effort, people were butting heads," he said. "This allows different organizations and groups to know what everyone's doing so they're not campaigning for the same resources."\nSophomore Brooke Rabin, who lived in New Orleans prior to the hurricane, attended the meeting and was grateful for the support. \n"It's hard to imagine, you see things on TV and it's just a building, but to us it's like, 'Oh my God, I was there last week,'" she said.\nWhile tentative, the student groups presented several fund-raising opportunities for IU students to participate in within the next few weeks, including:
Beads for Bucks\nIn commemoration of New Orleans' famous festival, the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center plans to sell Mardi Gras beads campuswide in an effort to raise over $21,000 in relief aid funds. The beads, which will cost Hillel $1,500 total thanks to a donation from Kipp Brothers, will be sold for a dollar each.
Dine & Donate\nThe Hillel Center is also sponsoring a "Dine & Donate" night at Bucceto's Restaurant, Tuesday, Sept. 13. Bucceto's, located at 115 S. State Road on the 46 Bypass, will donate 10 percent of the money earned.
Staying Informed\nThe School of Public and Environmental Affairs will be holding an open panel discussion at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The faculty panel will discuss how the hurricane damage could have been prevented.
Adopt a Family\nThe Residence Halls Association plans to have each campus dorm adopt a family affected by the hurricane and raise money for them. Coordinated between IU and Indiana State University, the program will be open to interested fraternities and sororities, according to Missy Foote, president of Eigenmann. Students interested in helping the program can contact Foote at merfoot@indiana.edu.
Relief Through Music\nBeta Theta Pi has booked Dunn Meadow from noon to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, for a benefit concert to raise money for hurricane victims. Mike Esworthy, director of philanthropy for the fraternity, said the chapter is searching for bands to play.
Simple Donations\nGolden Key, an international honors society, has collected money the past week and will continue to collect money on campus, said Jordan Raynor, vice president of marketing. The organization has raised nearly $1,000 and plans to earn more from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today as they collect money from students passing to and from class in the Arboretum.
In addition, several Web sites, such as www.btownactive.net, www.katrinahousing.org and www.iub.edu/hurricane have been created for students interested in lending support. Students interested in volunteering their services or donating money to the cause can e-mail the Volunteer Students Bureau at vsb@indiana.edu.
