Students Organize Help for Haiti

West Chester University student Steve Bertil was affected by the earthquake in Haiti on a very personal level. His mother, Bertha Alexandre, emigrated from Haiti to the United States a year before Bertil was born and she still has many family members in Haiti, including a sister and her children.

It was difficult to get information on them, Bertil said. "We found my aunt last week but the children are still missing. My mother used to visit Haiti every two years to see them and she was in the process of building a house for them but it has been destroyed. This has been a trying time for my family and I had such a feeling of helplessness."

He had to do something.

Orrin White, his friend and fraternity brother at Alpha Phi Alpha, got the movement rolling by sending a letter to 200 student leaders inviting them to a meeting on Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 18, just six days after the disaster. White also set up a link on his Facebook page where his friends could offer their help.

"We didn't want to stand idly by and have a country so close to us go through something so devastating," White said. "When we first began the initiative we didn't have a schematic of what we should collect - maybe food, clothes, medical equipment," he continued.

Matthew Bricketto, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, said that money was what the country urgently needed.

From that first meeting, attended by students from the Black Student Union; Black Men United; the Women's Center Club; Student Government Association; the National Association of Black Accountants; Sykes After Dark; and POESIS, "Yele for Haiti" (Crying for Haiti) was created.

Rebecca Nicolas, the director of the Gospel Choir, suggested a concert by the WCU Gospel Choir. "That got things started," White said. "Our goal is to raise $10,000."

Their first major fundraiser will be held on campus Thursday, Feb. 4, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. White hopes it will become an annual event at the school and for the whole West Chester community.

"A lot of people don't realize that the rainy season is coming," he said. "They're setting up tents down there but people are going to need our help for a long, long time."

"We don't want to just talk the talk," White said. "We want to walk the walk. And we've made footprints in the sand already."

"Yele for Haiti" Day - Thursday, Feb. 4 * 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Block party: food, games, wristbands and T-shirts (sold by donation) double-dutch and hopscotch demonstrations in Sykes Student Union.

* 7 to 10 p.m. Benefit concert. Sykes Ballroom. Performers include the WCU Gospel Choir, Grind City, Prayz 1 and the Underdogz; Deuce b. & Back of the Bus (alumni band); Soule. WUCR will broadcast the concert and WCU-TV will stream it live. ($3 donation).

Sponsoring organizations: Sykes After Dark; Alpha Phi Alpha; Gospel Choir; Student Government Association; National Association of Black Accountants: Alpha Kappa Alpha; Black Student Union; POESIS; Black Men United: Women's Center; Men's Basketball Team: Mock Trial Team; WCU TV; WCUR 91.7.

All donations may be made directly to the SSI Account #450.