Dawgs for Haiti continues fundraiser
January 24, 2010 by STEPHEN DORNER
Filed under Columns, Opinions
The sun sets over the gorgeous campus of the University of Georgia, and you think to yourself how much you love this place you call home, how much you wish it would never end, and how, due to that common sentiment, even the stranger in front of you is practically family.
More than 150,000 voices in Haiti have been silenced — their voices never to be heard again.
Every day, the sun sets over the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and the survivors must be thinking to themselves how much they wish this nightmare was over.
An untold number of children are now orphans, their families taken from them.
Many have no home, no water and no one to hold them close. The hospitals were destroyed. The port was damaged. The roads are blocked by the piles of bodies that no one dares to move.
STEPHEN DORNER
The numbers in Haiti are staggering, but the number of people around the world, the scale of their operations and the amount of support that they have generated is even more impressive.
The Bulldog Nation is among them. One week ago, Volunteer UGA launched the Dawgs for Haiti campaign to bring the University together in support of the victims of this disaster.
Following early reports that the death toll may have been 50,000, we set a pledge to raise $1 for every victim: $50,000. After just one week, the Bulldog Nation has already raised more than $33,000.
More than 110 student organizations have pledged their support to the cause. Hundreds of individual volunteers have offered their time.
President Adams donated $5,000 from his discretionary fund to cover operational costs and our first T-shirt orders. Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Rodney Bennett, offered $2,000 to cover additional expenses.
More than 2,000 shirts have been sold in Tate Plaza, hundreds of donations have been made online and over 4,800 people have joined our Facebook group to stay informed about the campaign.
We have raised more than $33,000 — and we’re not finished. In fact, our campaign is just beginning.
In the weeks ahead, the 110 student groups who have pledged their support will be organizing fundraisers and awareness events as part of the Dawgs for Haiti campaign.
You can stay informed about these events through our Facebook group or by going online to dawgsforhaiti.uga.edu.
The events will range from discussion panels to percentage and karaoke nights, and I ask that every one of you attend as many as you can.
President Adams wants every member of the Bulldog Nation to wear their Dawgs for Haiti T-shirt tomorrow in support of the cause. If you have not yet bought your shirt, they are available every day this week for $10 in Tate Plaza from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If friends, family or alumni would like to join the campaign, they can go online to make a donation or order a T-shirt — or five. Local business around Athens displaying a Dawgs for Haiti poster have joined our efforts either through a donation or by asking their customers to support our cause. Consider that altruistic spirit when you decide where to send your business.
You can make a massive difference in this endeavor. Wear your shirt or a blue ribbon as often as possible to show your support for the cause.
Sign up to be a volunteer on our Web site, and go canning with us downtown. Take donations at your next party, organize a fundraiser or send an e-mail over your listserv to rally people behind the cause.
The University of Georgia is leading the charge in serving the victims of this disaster.
We are helping to organize other colleges and universities across the country to create Students for Haiti — a coalition with a pledge to raise $1 million in aid for Haiti.
Dawgs for Haiti has raised 66% of our goal in just one week, and we have five weeks to go. On Saturdays, 92,747 people fit into Sanford stadium. More than 150,000 people died this month in Haiti.
Finish the drill, continue to lend your support, and let us show the nation of Haiti that the Bulldog Nation is with them.
— Stephen Dorner is a senior from Alpharetta majoring
in microbiology and
environmental health.
