Friday, January 06, 2006
Students thanked for local and global volunteer efforts
 USI students have been recognized for local and global volunteer efforts.Occupational Therapy students assisted a family in cleaning up after the November 6, 2005 tornado, and aided the Salvation Army with relief efforts relating to case management and the disbursement of assistance. Dr. Barbara J. Williams, acting director of the Occupational Therapy program, received a letter from the Durchholz family of Warrick County expressing their “sincere appreciation for all you did cleaning the debris from our fields in Warrick County on Monday. “Your thoughtfulness, camaraderie, and willingness to give of yourselves and your time is truly a credit to your individual character and the effectiveness of your civic responsibility. You are all a credit to your families and the USI institution.” Participating students (pictured above, along with students from an Iowa fraternity) were Katie Adams, Johna Asbridge, Aimee Byrley, Abbey Deeg, Kyle Duffee, Travis Farhar, Michelle Goelzhauser, Miranda Graham, Joy Haas, Abby Herd, Kelly Hibbard, Amanda Iliff, Sarah Jankowski, Brandi Jones, Erin Jones, Amy King-Seidl, Katie Kline, Zachary Lawrence, Katie Lodge, Tim Martin, Deana Mattox, Belinda Meyers, Krista Nicolet, Jennifer Payne, Ashley Porter, Ashley Quinn, Sarah Rains, Jeff Reeder, Deidre Riley, Jackie Rutledge, Karen Scheller, Ashley Taber, Jenna Thomas, Jessica Utley, Jason Vought, Krystal Walls, Gretchen Willis, Kaci Wilson, and Stephanie Wolf. Students in a course on economic development in developing countries have received a note of thanks from the top official of Africare, a nonprofit organization which provides emergency food relief to Niger. In fall 2005, students of Dr. Peter Cashel-Cordo, associate professor of economics, learned about the drought and locust infestation that led to a food shortage in Niger. On their own initiative, they decided to do something to improve the lives of the people in Niger. The students developed a project called "Rake Out Hunger in Niger." On weekends, they raked leaves in Evansville neighborhoods, explaining their purpose to homeowners and collecting donations to send to Africare. The project raised $365, which will feed about 40 children in Niger for almost two months. In a letter to Cashel-Cordo and students, John D. Campbell, acting president of Africare, said, “Funds received from generous donors such as you have made expansion of Africare’s work in Niger possible. So on behalf of the people of Niger, especially the children, I want to thank you for your kindness, your compassion, and your support of Africare.” Andrew Schultz, a senior economics and mathematics major, said 3.6 million people, including 800,000 children, are affected by the famine. “We decided we could play a small part,” he said. “We thought we could raise money and raise awareness of the problem.” In addition to Schultz, students who participated were Nathan Atkinson, Jean Bernavil, Lora Defries, William Krowl, Sean Martin, Shawn Scott, Shawn Storkman, and Charity Strange. Cashel-Cordo said that “Rake Out Hunger in Niger” was student-motivated and designed. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger from 1978-81. |
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