Over $14,000 in relief donated through Canadian Red Cross
By Lauren Kelly, News Editor
With the help of the students, faculty, staff, and clubs at Douglas College, the Douglas Students’ Union (DSU) has surpassed its goal of raising $3,000 by May 25 for Nepal’s ongoing earthquake relief. Student donations totalled $4,037.30, which the DSU matched up to $3,000. The Canadian government matched the entire contribution, resulting in a total of $14,074.60 in aid relief through the Canadian Red Cross thanks to the efforts of the Douglas community.
The country of Nepal, located between India and China, was struck with a 7.9-magnitude earthquake on April 25. This was followed by about 265 aftershocks, the most severe being a 7.3-magnitude one on May 12. According to the Nepalese government, the earthquakes have killed nearly 9,000 people, injured 21,000, and destroyed 500,000 homes. The United Nations estimates that 2.8 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
College relations coordinator Ruab Waraich said that the DSU wanted to focus their energy towards helping Nepal, because “Douglas College has a large population of South Asian, Chinese, and international students, and this is an issue that’s very close to home for them. As we are the representatives for students at this campus, we represent all students, not just domestic ones. So we thought it would be a great idea to help them feel more at home and raise money for their home country.”
The DSU Crew, DSU Focus Club, DSU Video Games Culture Club, and DSU Indonesian Club all contributed to fundraising efforts. They were joined by the elected DSU representatives and hosted events such as carnival games with refreshments donated by Chartwells, a video game event in the concourse, and a large bake sale, which raised $500. The college library, marketing division, Campus Life, and the Office for New Students helped as well.
College relations and membership outreach coordinator Tracy Ho explained the overwhelming response: “Getting the reports back and hearing the news about children and families and women not having homes and sleeping on the street hit a lot of people really close to their heart, and I think that has been great motivation for students to come together on this.”
Although the DSU fundraiser is now over, it is still possible to donate to Nepal through the Canadian Red Cross and the Humanitarian Coalition.
