College tallies tsunami aid Middlebury to send 11K to victims through charity

Author: Abigail Mitchell

The culmination of President Ronald D. Liebowitz's call for an immediate response to the tsunami disasters in Southeast Asia materialized on April 17 when the total amount of aid generated by the College was tallied. The grand total to be donated is $10,910.12.

These proceeds will go directly to organizations aiding tsunami relief, some of which include the American Red Cross, Oxfam America, Save the Children and the Karuna Trust.

On Jan. 7, Liebowitz commented on the devastating extent of the tragedy and ignited the fundraising effort in a campus-wide e-mail.

"In recent weeks we have watched with shock and sadness the scenes of devastation created by the earthquake and tsunami on Dec. 26 in southern Asia and eastern Africa," the e-mail read.

"We cannot possibly contemplate the full magnitude of this tragedy, nor what its consequences will be for the peoples and their countries directly affected. However, our community can join with others across the world with acts of hope and assistance. Some immediate responses are warranted," Liebowitz's correspondence continued.

The nearly $11,000 represents the fruition of these responses and those to follow in the next three months.

The relief effort at Middlebury began directly after the disaster when a group of concerned students went to the Chaplain's Office to discuss ideas about how Middlebury could help. After the Tsunami Memorial Service at Mead Chapel, a task force of students, faculty and administrators headed by Chaplain Laurie Jordan planned a series of fundraising events that lasted from Jan. 10 until April 17.

Fundraising began with the "Commons Challenge" when each commons competed to see which could collect the most change. This event resulted in buckets of quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies, totaling $2,200. The Martin Luther King Day concert by Twilight Artist-in-Residence Francois Clemmons took in $1,700 in "pass the hat" donations.

Yet another success was "Tsunami Saturday," sponsored by Dialogues For Peace. This event was a whole-day affair during which professors and students made presentations about the affected countries. Other events included the Methodist Church's Presidents Day tag sale, the Middlebury Asian Students Organization's box lunch and a 50/50 raffle at a Middlebury hockey game.

In addition, collection envelopes were distributed around campus and brought in over $1,300. The final fundraising event was the Peter Serkin concert, which took place on April 17 at the Center for the Arts. Sponsored by Brainerd Commons, this event took in $4,300 in ticket sales, the sum of which will go to Heifer International and Doctors Without Borders.

Even though the fundraising was a campus-wide effort, some members of the community should be recognized for their individual effort in making this project a success.

Jordan, Administrative Program Coordinator Ellen McKay and Associate Chaplain Rabbi Ira Schiffer played key roles in the project. Those who made especially notable contributions to the cause include Jasmin Johnson '05, Sathyavani Sathisan '07 and Derick Okwan-Duodu '05.

When asked why this relief effort was personally important to her, Sathisan said, "I am from Singapore, which, by the grace of god, despite being at the heart of the disaster-hit geographical location in Southeast Asia, was spared of the tsunami's mayhem. I guess it was a mix of a sort of guilt of not being affected and a genuine desire to help the victims, my neighbors, in my own little way."

"Having come from a country which was affected by the tidal wave, I saw and heard how much any aid means to many people very far away," Johnson said. "It was a reminder of how I should be helping out whenever I can."

Johnson also noted the importance of Middlebury's participation. "This disaster affects all of us in one way or another, even if it may not be in a direct way," he said.

"South and Southeast Asia have changed dramatically since the disaster and the full extent of this change will only be known in the distant future," he continued. "This part of the world is still reeling from disaster and to put it simply, everyone should try to help as much as they can."

Schiffer summed up the College's involvement in the relief effort. "The tsunami disaster confronted all of us with the fragility and uncertainty of life," he said. "As members of an intellectual community based in the study of the humanities, many students, faculty and staff felt the deep need to respond to this human tragedy not only as individuals, but as a college community, giving expression to the highest values of compassion, care and concern."