After the tragic Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the Quinnipiac community was eager to do as much as possible to help. “Stuff-a-Bus,” which took place on the quadrangle on Sept. 12-13, raised over $6,000 plus an abundance of material items.
“The day after the hurricane hit, students began contacting various leaders on campus about how the Quinnipiac community was going to help and also with suggestions,” said Carleen Roy-Butler, assistant director of community services and experiential learning. Instead of having multiple groups doing their own, smaller projects, the university decided to unite efforts to have one large project.
The Division of Student Affairs got together and decided to organize the “Stuff-a-Bus,” where people were asked to donate money along with items such as bottled water, diapers, non-perishable food, batteries, towels, and toiletry items. The filled buses dropped off goods at the First Calvary Baptist Church in New Haven, where they were then sent to a church in Baton Rouge, La., to help Katrina victims.
“[There was] such an outpouring of concern,” said David Ives, executive director of the Albert Schweitzer Institute. “I received at least 15 calls asking what ASI was doing. I was happy to refer them all to the Quinnipiac Response Committee because they were doing such a great job. It was heartening to see what the students and faculty were doing to help.”
Quinnipiac sent three bus loads of goods to Louisiana. Along with Roy-Butler, “Stuff-a-Bus” was a collaborative effort by CAP members, SOTA, Citizen Leaders and RAs, along with many others. Roy-Butler said they had no idea what to expect, and if they had more time to organize the event, they would have kept track of every item donated. The goal was that if every student, undergraduates and graduates, donated just one dollar each, they would raise about $10, 000. At $6, 000, they are almost there and everyone is proud of the efforts and results.
They are close to their goal at $6,000, making everyone proud of the efforts and results.
“I am absolutely happy,” Roy-Butler said. “I think the community definitely rose to the occasion, especially in such a short period of time.”
Others agree that the Quinnipiac community did a fantastic job coming together to help those in need.
“I think it’s a great project for Quinnipiac students to undertake because it’s important to help those in need,” said Josephine Palmieri, research and development coordinator at ASI. “You never know when you’re going to be the one needing help, and you can only hope that others will be just as considerate.”
