Salve and Plan USA’s Tsunami Relief Efforts

By: Elisabeth Steinhardt
Posted In: News

Tuesday in Bazarsky Lecture Hall in O’Hare Academic Center, Samuel Worthington, the national executive director and CEO of Plan USA, spoke about his organization’s active participation in the tsunami relief.

Plan USA is a “global, child-focused humanitarian organization that helps children and their communities meet their basic needs and promote their rights to participate in and benefit from their societies.” Plan USA is one of the two organizations Salve is working with to help in the tsunami relief efforts.

“To make something like this [tsunami relief] work, you need massive coordination,” Worthington said. “It’s the local level that the coordination comes in.”

With the tsunami’s death toll reaching over 225,000, raising public awareness is Salve’s main goal. In addition to Mr. Worthington’s speech, to raise awareness and donations, Salve will co-host a cappella concert with Don St. Jean with a performance by the Cliff Notes. The concert will take place on Friday, February 4th at 7:30 pm in Cecelia Hall and will be $5.

A weekend trip for two to Florida will be auctioned off, as well as gift certificates to local restaurants.

These events will help raise money and awareness around campus and Salve will send all proceeds to Plan USA.

Also, according to the first issue of the Pell Center Times, “Dr. Liotta, Executive Director of the Pell Center, is working with Dr. Mary Sokolowski, Director of Government and Community Relations to plan additional future programs to inform members of the university community and the general public about the critical impact their efforts can have during times of “complex emergencies” such as war, humanitarian crises or natural disasters.”

Interested in helping at Salve? Here’s how:

● Contact Casey Burry, ESL Coordinator, who is spearheading the tsunami relief efforts around campus and in coordination with the local community:

* 401-341-2165

* burryc@salve.edu

● If you belong to a group or club:

Host club fundraisers

Ask members for donations

Help with the cappella concert (contact Casey Burry)

To make a donation, or for more information, please visit the Plan USA website at www.planusa.org/aidformri or mail your donation to Plan USA, 155 Plan Way, Warwick RI 02886 or visit the Catholic Relief Services website at http://www.catholicrelief.org for more information about their organization.