SHERMAN, TEXAS — Austin College students, faculty, and staff will undertake several on-campus fundraisers in support of aid and relief in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake. The money raised by the campus Help for Haiti efforts will be donated equally between Partners in Health (PIH) and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Austin College chaplain John Williams will coordinate the campus effort.

Donations to the UMCOR will honor the Rev. Clinton Rabb, a 1971 Austin College graduate who served the United Methodist Church as the assistant general secretary for Mission Volunteers. Rabb was trapped in the collapse of the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince on January 12. He was rescued after 55 hours and transported to a hospital in Florida, but died on January 18 from his injuries.

“The intent of the Austin College donation is to hold up as exemplary Rev. Rabb’s service to God and the world, to tell his story to our current students, and to support the ministry to which he gave his life,” Williams said.

Austin College donations also will support Partners in Health, which provides medical assistance to the rural poor, and has worked in Haiti since 1985. In response to the earthquake and aftershocks, PIH is working to help as many injured as possible and to reopen hospitals to accommodate more patients. Dr. Paul Farmer, founder and director of PIH, was the recipient of the Austin College Posey Leadership Award in 2007. Financial support will continue an established relationship with the organization.

Student body president and junior Carolyn Stone, former vice president and senior Redwan Hoque, and Service Station co-chair, and senior Ariel Ketcherside will coordinate other student efforts through the spring. They are asking their fellow students to sacrifice buying coffee, eating out, or similar extras and donate the money saved to Help for Haiti. The three will make personal sacrifices and share updates through all-campus e-mails.

“By changing our lives for those affected by the earthquake, we hope to stand in solidarity with them,” Ketcherside said.

Other fundraising efforts also are planned. Student athletes will participate in a nationwide program asking students to donate $1 each to the Red Cross. John West, director of the Abell Library, is organizing a book drive and sale in support of disaster relief. Books may be donated at the circulation desk until March 12.

Alumni connections

A number of Austin College alumni also are involved in relief efforts. Word has been received that Lynn Northcutt Vega, a Class of 1985 graduate who works with USAID in Colombia, has been sent to Haiti to support the relief effort.

Austin College alumni and north Texas physicians Jeannine Hatt Phelps and Chuck Phelps, both 1972 graduates, have made several medical aid trips to Haiti over the past 10 years. They were among a group of veteran medical missionaries who headed to Haiti Sunday, January 24, to tend to the wounded at what once was Grace Children’s Hospital. The team works through International Child Care (ICC), a non-profit organization that runs hospitals, community health programs, and clinics throughout Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Hatt is on the board of directors of ICC.

Another PIH donation avenue has been established by Brianna Burnett, a 2002 graduate and one of 16 Austin College students and faculty who participated in a January Term 2000 trip to Haiti, during which they were able to visit Dr. Paul Farmer at his clinic. Now a working artist and photographer, Bri has formed a Facebook Cause to send donations directly to PIH in support of Haiti. See the site Raise Money for Haiti - Buy Art!

Austin College is a leading national independent liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas. Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original charter and name, the college is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA).

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