UNH Providing Relief for Haiti

All over the world help is being provided to Haiti where thousands of people are lost, lonely, and in desperate need of help. There are dozens of organizations created to helping Haiti and many programs where citizens are donating money to fund for the necessary needs for the Haitians. Not only are the Red Cross, UNICEF, and other popular organizations helping to rebuild Haiti, but Universities and colleges all around the nation are trying to support Haiti in their time of need. The University of New Hampshire and the small town of Durham is playing an active role in trying to support Haiti. Activities like concert benefits, comedy productions and Greek involvement have been trying to raise money to donate to the devastated country.

The Durham Community Church was one of the organizations that helped provide relief for Haiti. On February 11^th, 2010, there was a concert at 7 p.m. at the church to fundraise for disaster relief. The musicians that played in this concert were from the Seacoast area and to attend the concert, it was free. Donations were being accepted to go towards helping Haiti.

Another great way local community members and students could have helped the relief fund was by attending the comedy show on Saturday, February 6^th, 2010, in the Strafford Room at the MUB. The entry fee went straight to supporting Haiti. The cost to see the show was $3, whether it was a student or a local. The comedy show had about 8 or 9 comedians and a host, who was said to be the funniest by some students who watched the show. Students went to the show because they wanted a good laugh, but also because they wanted to help contribute to Haiti. Adrienne Allicon, a sophomore at UNH said she enjoyed spending her Saturday night at the comedy show because “it was wicked funny and I wanted to support Haiti.” The show had a good turn out because “about every seat in the Strafford Room was taken,” according to Allicon.

Another way students could have donated to help Haiti was through the UNH sorority, Kappa Delta. This sorority hosted a “Red Ribbon’s for Haiti” activity where every day from February 1^st to the 12^th, students could purchase a red ribbon for $1 to help provide disaster relief. The event took place in the MUB, where Kappa Delta had a table set up for purchasing the red ribbons. The event was advertised all around campus, and even had a Facebook group event with 225 confirmed guests to remind students of when they could stop by and purchase a red ribbon for Haiti. A sister of Kappa Delta, Audrey McCullough said that Kappa Delta put on this event because “we wanted to raise money for Haiti and get the school involved, and we thought the ribbons would be a good way for people to show support.” Vice President of Community Service, Mallory Izbicki said that Kappa Delta sold 247.39 ribbons, and people donated even without taking a ribbon. When asked what students can do to further help support Haiti, Izbicki responded “There are many student organizations that are having events to help out with Haiti, check Facebook and flyers around the MUB. You can also donate to the many websites that are dedicated to helping with relief efforts. Our donations are going to the Red Cross.” Izbicki continued to state why she loved the idea of red ribbons when she said, “I think it was a good idea because it was something that would raise awareness around campus. I've seen so many people with the ribbons all over their backpacks and jackets. It helps people remember the people that were struck by the tragedy.”