HELP UNCF SCHOOLS IN KATRINA'S PATH
Message from Dr. Michael Lomax
Our prayers are with all those whose homes and families were ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Three UNCF member schools—Dillard and Xavier Universities in New Orleans and Tougaloo College in Mississippi—were hit hard by the hurricane. These colleges need help, and they need it now.
We have established a special fund to help these hurricane-ravaged schools. You can donate by clicking here. Please give generously—now, before you leave our site.
http://www.uncf.org/webfeature/lomax_katri... We will be updating this page as we find out more, so read the update below, then bookmark us, and check back.
On behalf of these stricken universities, I am counting on your generosity. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Updated Thursday, September 1, 2005
There's good news today. Approximately 400 Xavier University students are safe, and so is Xavier's president, Dr. Norman Francis.
The good news about the students comes from Warren Bell, Xavier's Associate Vice President for Associate Vice President for University and Media Relations. He says that the 400 Xavier students took refuge in a dormitory. A National Guard unit came to campus, and decided that the students had access to food and water, and would be safe in the dorm for the time being
The good news about Xavier's president comes directly from Dr. Francis himself. I spoke to Dr. Francis several times today, and he and his staff are hard at work planning the evacuation of the 400 students on campus, reuniting all Xavier his students with their families and finding a way to continue their education.
I want to underscore that last point: Dr. Francis and Dillard president Dr. Marvalene Hughes are working day and night to get all their students, faculty and staff to safe places, and to reassure worried families. But they are also giving a very high priority to resuming their education. Their action not only accords education the importance it deserves, but will lend at least a measure of continuity to the disrupted lives of these fine and brave young men and women.
Those of you especially concerned with Xavier can get more information on a toll-free emergency hot line: 1-866-520-XULA (1-866-520-9852).
Dr. Francis, Dr. Hughes, and Tougaloo president Dr. Beverly Hogan and all their students and staff have gone far beyond the call of duty in the face of the kind of adversity most of us can hardly imagine.
We owe them nothing less than to redouble our efforts to help them in every way we can. They need help now to ensure the safety of their campus communities. They will need help finding places to continue their educational mission. And they will need help for the foreseeable future restoring their campuses for the eventual return of their students.
What can we do, those of us fortunate enough not to have been in the path of this destructive hurricane? We can make sure that as many people as possible know about the damage these colleges have suffered and their need for help. UNCF is doing everything we can to get that story out; several of the stories we've linked to below are the results of that effort.
Most important, we can give, and give generously, so that these colleges will have the resources they need to carry on their recovery—right now, and for the months ahead. Give to the special UNCF Hurricane Relief Fund we have set up to help these colleges and students in their time of need.
Click here take you to a secure portion of the site where you can use your credit card so that your donation will take effect immediately. Or send your check to the address below.
Thank you, in advance, for giving these schools and students the support their bravery has earned.
United Negro College Fund
8260 Willow Oaks Corporate Drive
P.O. Box 10444
Fairfax, VA 22031-8044
Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D.
President and CEO
© Copyright, 1999-2005, United Negro College Fund, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Sunday, September 4th 2005 at 9:41PM
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