7 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(03/25/11 3:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Last year at about this time, Sue Gulley had her hands full. As the executive director of the American Red Cross at the Monroe County Chapter, she had many people turning to her to help organize fundraisers for Haiti after the 7.0 earthquake caused the death of more than 200,000 Haitians and left about 1.5 million homeless.After immediately educating herself on the country, she began to work with about 20 local groups and volunteers to set up relief efforts to raise money. People contacted her every day asking how they could contribute.Yet today, Gulley does not work with anyone to help Haiti. Although the American Red Cross remains significantly involved offering aid there, the Monroe County Chapter does not have any community participation. Gulley said she blames the lack of media attention. Without the images of Haiti being strewn across the television daily, many people have forgotten. “It’s not in the news,” Gulley said. “People aren’t thinking about it.” By texting, calling or using the web to donate, Bloomington and a few surrounding areas raised about $160,000 for Haiti last year. Gulley said the money has helped some Haitians rebuild and have clean water and sanitation, but many still live in tents today. Even the recent cholera outbreak in October, which killed and hospitalized thousands, failed to send donors Gulley’s way. Organizations once heavily involved have also steered their efforts in a different direction. Bradley Levinson, director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at IU, said after the earthquake, the center put together a fundraiser called Cram the Container. The ultimate goal was to fill up a shipping container about the size of a train car with canned foods, sleeping bags and many other items for Haiti. Today the center continues to provide education for people interested in Haiti, and it has co-sponsored events like the Haiti film festival in January, but collecting donations is something of the past. “We’ve kind of gotten out of that business,” Levinson said. “I guess the sense of urgency wears off.”As what happens with many disasters, people tend to become more involved immediately after it happens and less frequently as time goes on. New disasters develop, and attentions turn to them.Lori Garraghty, resource development director at the United Way for Monroe County, said it also has to do with people acting as habit donors or people who give once each time a disaster occurs. “Every month brings its own issue,” Garraghty said.Yet some people still cling to their causes. “A year later, it feels like no time has passed,” said Kat Forgacs, a folklore graduate student at IU. “I feel like I still need to be doing things.” After taking Haitian Creole at IU, Forgacs volunteered as a translator for Haitian artisans at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., in 2004. She said her emotional attachment to Haitians grew, and the earthquake solidified this even further. “An event like that, it was absolutely something I couldn’t escape or ignore,” Forgacs said. “I felt like this was happening to members of my own family.”Forgacs immediately took action. She created www.bloomington4haiti.wordpress.com to connect people in central and southern Indiana who were interested in lending a hand to Haiti, and she also dedicated a Facebook page to announce upcoming events. Seeing how broken Haiti remains, Forgacs’ work continues. She was involved with Cram the Container, the Ali Tarter talks in March, Haiti Awareness Month in September, the Haiti Film Festival in January and Kafe Kreyol, which is a group that meets to speak in Haitian Creole and discuss upcoming events for Haiti.Over time, she said people have stopped collecting physical items for Haiti. But many organizations now combine fundraising with education and awareness.“My interest is to help people understand what is going on there and what has been going on there for decades,” she said. Although local contributions have alleviated many problems, Haiti still has poor schools and families in dire need of basic necessities, said David Tezil, an IU graduate student who grew up in Haiti.People who want to help should educate Haitians on how to care for themselves, Tezil said. Haitians should not be given fish but instead be taught how to fish, he said.“We’ll work with you. We’ll empower you,” Tezil said, referring to how organizations should communicate with Haitians. Locally, Tezil has become a Haitian mentor. Parents of adopted Haitian babies, churches taking missionary trips and students with questions about the country come to him constantly. To help Haiti, he said people need to look toward its future. Donations like bottles of water can cause the immense trash problem to increase, and Haitians will have a problem when the bottles run out, Tezil said.Instead, he said people should ask Haitians what they would like done. Tezil’s father is a prime example. He worked with community leaders in their former hometown of Carrefour and eventually helped build a well to provide clean water. The well is still there, Tezil said. For Haiti’s future, Forgacs said Haitians should be pushed toward a self-sufficient lifestyle. But she also said organizations should not end their help immediately. “You can’t walk away from someone who literally has nothing,” Forgacs said.
(10/15/10 1:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Elinor Ostrom does it again.The IU Distinguished Professor and 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize winner in Economic Sciences will receive the 2010 Distinguished Faculty Award on Friday at the College of Arts and Sciences annual recognition banquet. She will be awarded on behalf of the many lists of contributions and achievements in her field. “I’m deeply appreciative of receiving it,” Ostrom said. “I’m just delighted about it.”In addition, a Distinguished Alumni Award will be given to Angelo Pizzo, the screenwriter and producer best known for the films “Hoosiers” and “Rudy”, and Paul Caine, president of Time Inc.’s Style and Entertainment Group.An Outstanding Young Alumni Award will also be given to Erika Wadler, InStyle magazine’s executive director for American fashion and retail.“They’ve made achievements in every human endeavor,” said Jocelyn Bowie, director of communications and marketing for the College of Arts and Sciences. Bowie said the event highlights the outstanding contributions of the recipients and praises them for all they have provided to the College of Arts and Sciences and the University.“It’s a chance for the campus, the College of Arts and Sciences, our students and our alumni to celebrate the great things within the College,” Bowie said.The awards were first given to alumni and faculty in 1978 with a recognition luncheon. Now the recipients receive a night in their honor in front of about 200 guests. “These are incredible people,” said Marsha Minton, director of alumni relations for the College of Arts and Sciences. “The alumni board decided that the College should be recognizing its best.”
(09/27/10 3:36am)
Brian Alexander, a parking enforcement officer for the City of
Bloomington, stopped typing on his handheld computer and looked up from
behind his sunglasses at the lady with a grin.
(01/28/09 2:39am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Open Mic Nights. They are here. From poets to musicians, talented students of all sorts come to Open Mic Nights at BuffaLouie’s to perform on two new stages which were built this summer to accommodate the event’s growing popularity. “It’s really unbelievable how many talented students there are at IU,” said Eric Love, director of diversity education and Open Mic Nights co-organizer. “It’s just an incredible mix of rock bands, rappers and spoken-word artists.”Open Mic Nights began after Branden Scott, co-organizer, brought the idea to Love more than a year ago. Scott said he hopes students will be inspired to experience something different and that Open Mic Nights “shine a light” on students’ talents. In addition to organizing Open Mic Nights, Scott showcases his writing and recites poetry. “I kind of use it as a therapy,” Scott said. “I don’t do it for recognition or anything like that.”Open Mic Nights are free and open to the public. Love said students should not be afraid of being ridiculed while onstage. “It’s really a supportive audience,” Love said. “No one ever gets booed.”Chris Tabron, who also performs regularly, uses the stage to express a positive message as a Christian hip-hop artist. “The big thing for me is I’ve been able to express my faith in God,” Tabron said. Tabron said he sees the possibility of a future career with his talent, and he said performing has helped him improve his presence on the stage. Open Mic Nights are a non-competitive social outlet, so no one receives prizes and no one is formally judged. Scott said students with talent in any area are encouraged to attend. Open Mic Nights are held at different times each month, so for more information, contact Love by phone at 855-2139 or 855-2155 or by e-mail at elove@indiana.edu. “If you feel like you want to express yourself in a certain way, come on out,” Scott said.
(04/28/08 2:40am)
Evan Handler was given six months to live when he was only 23 years old. Battling an “incurable” disease named acute myeloid leukemia, doctors said Handler was unlikely to recover. However, against all odds, he survived the usually fatal illness. Today, while trying to relive the youth he lost during his mid-20s, he has written about his second chance at life.\nPopularly known for his role as Harry Goldenblatt on HBO’s “Sex and the City” and Charlie Rumkle on Showtime’s “Californication,” Handler has written his second book, “It’s Only Temporary: The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive.” The book describes his life through a collection of off-beat stories.\nFrom dating failures to relationship triumphs, through career ups and downs to ultimately finding his true love, the book pieces together his comedic yet insightful experiences during a period of 20 years. Stories discuss his determination to run faster around New York’s Central Park reservoir, his experiences working on “Sex and the City” and the birth of his daughter. In the book, Handler said he is lucky to be alive, yet he still struggles to find constant pleasure in life.\n“It is an ironic struggle between gratitude and yearning that I’ve had,” he said in the book interview. \nHandler published his first book in 1996, titled “Time On Fire: My Comedy of Terrors,” which depicts a funny yet angry account of his life defeating cancer. He said his books reflect a way of making Hallmark stories in the most “un-Hallmark way” possible.\nHandler describes his own life as “backwards,” considering he has spent his 30s and 40s catching up on life experiences that were wiped out by his illness during his 20s. His 20-year-old perspective makes his book relatable to college students.\n“I think it speaks of coming to terms with the fact that life is a limited duration,” Handler said.\nHandler’s career will continue with his second season of “Californication”; the new “Sex & the City” movie, which comes out May 30; and “It’s Only Temporary: The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive,” which hits bookstores May 1.\nWhen asked if he prefers his talent of acting or writing better, he said, “I like the act of one and the pay of another – now if you could combine the two ... ”
(02/15/08 3:36am)
This year, Valentine’s Day represented not only a celebration of love, but for the Monroe County Public Library, it was a day that marked the beginning of a new direction. \nThe Monroe County Public Library mailed a survey Thursday to 3,000 households in the community to determine how it can improve in the future.\n“We want to know what everyone in the county thinks,” said Margaret Harter, community relations coordinator of the Monroe County Public Library. “This will guide us in setting goals.”\nThe Strategic Planning Team, which consists of employees from the library and representatives of the community, will use the information from the survey to impact a strategic plan that will create changes to the library in the next few years. \n“The survey will point out to the Strategic Planning Committee what the public expects the library to be doing,” said Stephen Moberly, member of the Monroe County Public Library board of trustees and member of the Strategic Planning Team.\nThe Monroe County Public Library has also used the input from focus groups to benefit expectations from the community, and the survey is considered only one of many steps to improve. \n“It is just one piece of our planning process,” Moberly said. “We are trying to reach our decision-making through a number of approaches.”\nThe survey, which takes about 10 minutes to complete, has 26 questions that focus on current and non-current use of the library, satisfaction or rating of the library, survey takers’ future thoughts and decisions for the library and a demographics section.\n“We will be using it to think about our mission and our services for the next three to five years,” said Sara Laughlin, director of the Monroe County Public Library, and Strategic Planning Team representative. \nLast summer, the team began working with ETC Institute, an independent consulting company, to construct the survey. The households chosen to participate in the survey were a random sample in order to statistically configure the results. \n“It is very important that we get it back from the people that do receive it in the mail,” Laughlin said, who also mentioned the library will turn to phone surveys if the participation in the mailed surveys is too low.\nAfter the surveys are completed and mailed back by the participants, the ETC Institute will gather and study the information and opinions. The results will assist the library in making future decisions with the interest of the community in mind.\n“It is just good to check in on the people we serve,” Harter said. “It will determine the direction we go.”
(02/08/08 6:11am)
Herb Kelleher, founder and executive chairman of Southwest Airlines, will make a return visit to the Kelley School of Business to present his speech, “Southwest Airlines from the Chairman’s View,” on Friday. \n“He is going to deliver a very good message,” said Donald F. Kuratko, the Jack M. Gill Chair of Entrepreneurship and executive director of IU’s Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.\nKelleher will talk about entrepreneurship and his own successes and experiences with Southwest Airlines.\nThe speech will be the first IU Entrepreneurial Connection program, which is a way to annually network students and alumni from the Kelley School of Business.\n“I think we need to connect our students with our alumni,” said Kuratko, who also says alumni can help IU’s current students. \nKelleher drew an audience to IU’s campus when he spoke in the spring of 2005 about corporate governance and ethics, and this year organizers plan on about 250 people to attend.\n“We invited him back because we wanted a big name for this program,” said Sue Artmeier, assistant director of the Johnson Center. “We want people to drop what they’re doing for the day and come to Bloomington.” \nArtmeier said the IU Entrepreneurial Connection program is built to provide a chance for students to find a mentor through the alumni. \n“We’re trying to build a real connection there,” Artmeier said.\nFollowing Kelleher’s speech, Kuratko will moderate a discussion panel, giving the audience a chance to ask questions to Kelleher and other speakers, including Dr. Gary J. Anderson, founder and managing general partner of TL Ventures and venture capitalist-in-residence at IU; and William L. Haeberle, professor emeritus of management in the Kelley School.\nAs one of the audience members who heard Kelleher speak in the spring of 2005, Haeberle described Kelleher as a type of honest man who inspires people to think that big things are possible.\n“It is very apparent with this man he is totally unpretentious,” Haeberle said. “What you see is what you get.”\nHaeberle views Kelleher’s presentation as an opportunity for students to see and hear a legend.\n“We have here a classic case of the entrepreneur that boot-strapped a company not only to be a huge success, but dramatically impacted other airlines,” Haeberle said.