AUSTIN, Texas—The Volunteer and Service Learning Center at The University of Texas at Austin has initiated a coordinated student fundraising effort on campus to help people affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami disaster.
University volunteers on Tuesday began operating a donation station on Gregory Plaza near the corner of Speedway and 21st streets that will be in service from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily through Feb. 4. Glen Baumgart, director of the center, said students, faculty, staff, student organizations, alumni and other community members are welcome to drop off cash or check donations. Information also will be available there about other ways members of the university community may provide help, he said.
Dr. Larry R. Faulkner, president of the university, has called upon the university community to join international efforts to provide disaster relief.
“At this point, our donations are the most effective means of helping the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the disaster,” Faulkner said. “I suggest that you make your contributions through reliable organizations such as the White House-sponsored USA Freedom Corps, whose efforts are endorsed by former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.”
Baumgart said the funds raised through the volunteer center’s initiative would be sent to two of the organizations listed with the USA Freedom Corps—American Red Cross and UNICEF.
Baumgart said the campus fundraising program is expected to be the first of many related relief efforts on campus. Scores of individuals, student groups, departments and alumni have voiced their desire to provide support and/or relief to the disaster victims in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and other parts of the world.
On Wednesday, Jan. 19, the Volunteer and Service Learning Center will host a forum for members of the university community to discuss short-term and long-term strategies to help disaster victims. The forum will be from 5-7 p.m. in the Glenn Maloney room of the Student Services Building.
Baumgart said registered university organizations sponsoring their own relief efforts are encouraged to contact the Volunteer and Service Learning Center, which is compiling a comprehensive list of options and opportunities for people wanting to contribute or get involved in the relief effort.
For more information or to share information about other tsunami relief efforts, contact Baumgart at 512-471-6161 or gbaumgart@mail.utexas.edu.
For more information contact: Glen Baumgart, Volunteer and Service Learning Center, 512-471-6162, or Robert D. Meckel, Office of Public Affairs, 512-475-7847.
