1st day's efforts gather $500

by Tamara Gaskill

Daily Lobo

Small orange buckets were set up all over campus Tuesday for students to donate money for Hurricane Katrina victims.

Aaron Reinhardt, head volunteer for ASUNM's Community Experience, said the goal was to raise $40,000 by Sept. 16.

"There are about 50,000 people on campus a day," he said. "If each person gave just a dollar, we would exceed our goal."

Campus organizations such as ASUNM and several of its executive branch groups are pitching in to help the people whose lives have been forever changed by the recent tragedy and its aftermath.

Community Experience is a student-run group that focuses on community service.

Chelsea Armstrong, executive director of Community Experience, said the group set buckets at every food place in the SUB, as well as at the Starbucks in the bookstore.

Buckets are also in Johnson Center and at the movie theater in the SUB, she said. Armstrong said the organization had collected about $500 by 3 p.m. on Tuesday.

Other organizations contributing to the fund-raising efforts include Greek Life and the Lobo Spirit Group.

Aside from money, students can donate food, water and other items, Armstrong said.

"Shoes, they really need shoes over there," she said.

Daniela Weiner, marketing director for Community Experience, said all the proceeds go directly to the American Red Cross.

"A lot of people want to help but don't know what to do," she said.

Volunteers will be set up at a table in the dining area of the SUB all week, she said, and people can write checks payable to the American Red Cross if they are short on cash.

Emily Gardner, a freshman from Los Alamos, said she was able to relate to the Hurricane Katrina victims.

"I went through the Cerro Grande fire and had to evacuate," she said. "The whole getting evacuated from your house and having nothing is so horrible."

Gardner said having people who were willing to help was great.

Nursing student Nisha Grice lived in New Orleans for three years and still has friends there.

"I haven't heard from everyone yet," she said.

The people she had been able to reach have been all right, Grice said.

Grice said the response from people offering support outside of the affected states is good.

"Just from what I've heard and what I've read, it seems to be great," she said.

Community Experience staff members will be going into classrooms this week with orange buckets to get more donations from students.