With aftershocks of the Haitian earthquake still ravaging the country as recently as Wednesday, the Penn campus has continued its commitment to sending the impoverished island nation aid and honoring the lives lost.
“Instead of turning a blind eye, [students] have turned their eyes down to Haiti,” University Chaplain Charles Howard said.
Through Friday, a campus-wide drive for basic necessities will be collecting non-perishable foods, clothing and medical supplies. The drive is sponsered by the Latino Coalition and the Minority Association of Pre-Health Students.
Donations will be picked up by the Haitian Professionals of Philadelphia. The organization that will make a trip to Haiti next week in order to deliver the supplies and transport doctors, according to the group’s web site.
“For those students who don’t necessarily have the funds to donate, it’s easy to go into their pantry ... and find something to give,” Latino Coalition chairwoman and Wharton junior Wendy De La Rosa said.
Penn for UNICEF started a campaign to which “100 professors and counting” pledged to donate at least $20 to UNICEF if 1,000 students sign a petition and donate $1, according to Penn for UNICEF president and Wharton junior Anthony Leem.
"We need a little less than 300 more signatures," Leem wrote in an e-mail.
Students will be able to sign the petition tonight from 11 p.m. to midnight in the lobby of Harnwell College House.
And the Excelano Project will host a poetry night tonight at 8 p.m. in Bodek Lounge in Houston Hall that will feature a guest performance by poet Elizabeth Alexander, who is known for reciting a poem at Barack Obama’s inauguration.
The week of aid and remembrance events began with a candlelight vigil on Monday hosted by the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Attendees marched silently from DuBois College House to the Compass, and then in song from the Compass to Houston Hall.
The vigil was followed by a benefit concert, Aidé Haiti. UMOJA fundraising co-chairman and Wharton sophomore Jeffrey Tillus and Wharton junior Dominique Pupke gave speeches at the event. Both are of Haitian descent and shared their experiences following the earthquake, urging the audience to donate and assist the relief efforts.
Various student groups performed and the event ended with a performance from Penn alumnus and R&B; artist Rob Murat, who is also of Haitian descent.
Makuu director Karlene Burrell-McRae said $3,306 was raised at the concert, including $275 raised in a bake sale put on by the Civic House Associates Coalition.
“[The concert] was completely sold out ... we reached capacity for sure,” McRae said.
Proceeds from the concert will be donated to UNICEF, while proceeds from the Excelano show will be donated to Haitian Professionals of Philadelphia, according to McRae. The organizations were chosen by the Dessalines Haitian Student Association.
Hoops for Haiti, an initiative put together by the men’s basketball team, aims to collect shoes and send them to Haiti. Wharton sophomore and point guard Zack Rosen first announced the initiative at Aidé Haiti.
College junior and PRISM co-chair Roxana Moussavian wrote in an e-mail that various religious communities will continue to collect donations at their services this weekend. She added that the Newman Center — Penn’s Catholic campus ministry — will host a “Dollar Dinner” on Saturday night to raise funds.
Alumni groups are also doing their part. The Dominican Penn Alumni Club and Wharton Alumni Club has extended a call to the General Alumni Network to donate to Save the Children, according to College graduate and Dominican Penn president Benjamin Ben-David Bonetti.
“The fact that groups from all walks on life on this campus are contributing to this effort [is] really a profound, profound thing,” Excelano member and College junior Justin Ching said.
The death toll of the earthquake, which first struck Jan. 12, is estimated at 200,000, with 80,000 already buried in mass graves, according to the Associated Press. About 250,000 people are believed to be in need of immediate help.
