Updated: March 24, 2010
Bryant plans 'lock-in' to raise money for Haiti
The event begins on Friday, March 26, at 8 p.m. and continues until Saturday morning at 8 a.m.
The Bryant In ACTION for Haiti campaign will sponsor a "lock-in" beginning on Friday, March 26, at 8 p.m. in the MAC to raise money for the people of Haiti. The event continues until Saturday morning at 8 a.m. Tickets, which are $5 dollars, can be purchased on Wednesday from 10 am to 2 pm in the Bryant Center and on Thursday and Friday from 10 am to 2 pm in the Rotunda. Students who buy their tickets in advance will get a free raffle ticket for various prizes including gift cards, movie passes, and tanning packages. (Entry tickets can be bought at the door, and raffle tickets can be purchased throughout the event.)
Throughout the 12 hours, students can enjoy food, entertainment, and games. Cahill, an acoustic rock group from Boston, will kick off the event. Throughout the event, volleyball, dodgeball, and basketball tournaments will also take place. (Learn more details on the event's Facebook invite.)
Since the beginning of the spring semester, the Bryant in ACTION for Haiti campign has raised more than $4,000 that will go directly to the people of Haiti.
Stay updated on the work of the campaign by becoming a member of the Bryant in ACTION for Haiti Facebook group.
Updated: March 2, 2010
Understanding Haiti
The Bryant community listens to heartfelt words shared by Nastazia Coirin '13, who was in Haiti at the time of the earthquake.
It has been about a month since Nastazia Coirin '13 (Port-Au-Prince, Haiti) was sitting in her home when a catastrophic earthquake shook the walls around her and devastated the country where she grew up.
As part of a teach-in about Haiti organized last week by the Bryant in ACTION for Haiti, campaign, Coirin shared what she saw and felt in the immediate aftermath of the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck on January 12.
“Street after street – just rubble,” she said. “Entire neighborhoods were destroyed. I could not identify landmarks. Dead bodies piled on the ground, and a crowd of people invaded the streets with fear, pain, and total despair.”
Instead of being remembered for its beautiful beaches, captivating culture, and history, Haiti would be known as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, she thought.
“Words cannot convey my sadness,” she said. ‘I thought it was the end of the world. My world at least, as if there was no more hope. It took 45 seconds to change the life of a whole nation, a nation that will have to be rebuilt.”
Despite her sadness, she is heartened by the outpouring of support from the Bryant community and believes her country can recover.
“I am today more hopeful than ever,” she said, “that Haiti will flourish and again someday be ‘la perle des Antilles,’ the Pearl of the Antilles.”
Coirin will share more of her experiences when she takes part in Bryant's Telling Her Story Series as part of Women's Herstory month on Thursday, March 18, at noon in Heritage.
More informed
For Bryant Women’s Center Director Toby Simon, it was especially difficult to watch as another catastrophe hit Haiti. For the past 15 years, Simon and her husband have been volunteering in rural Haiti, where they help train health care workers.
She told the 100 members of the Bryant community assembled for the Teach-In that Haiti barely survived four major hurricanes in the last two years. “What more can this country endure?” she wondered aloud.
In watching the news coverage of the earthquake, Simon remembers being struck by how uninformed the reporters were about Haiti.
“In general people tend to know very little about Haiti – other than how poor a country it is – and know very little of its history and culture,” says Simon.
During the teach-in, History and Social Sciences Associate Professor Paul Lokken explored the Haiti revolution, which resulted in the world’s first Black democracy in 1804. John Dietrich, associate professor of history and social sciences, examined recent political developments, including multiple coup d’etats against leaders that resulted in instability, lawlessness, and Haiti’s being declared a “failed state.” Science and Technology Lecturer Julia Crowley Parmentier said there is a 95 percent chance of another major earthquake within the next year.
“I hope this is only the beginning for us and that there will be opportunities to study and learn more,” says Simon. “Let us never forget Haiti.”
The Bryant community continues to plan events to raise money for the relief efforts in Haiti. Through various fundraisers on campus and personal donations from students, faculty, and staff, Bryant has collected more than $1,300. That total does not include the money that is still being counted from the “Change for Haiti” campaign that collected donations as people came onto campus.
On Thursday, March 4 at 9 pm in South Dining Room, Bryant students will present Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues as part of Women’s Herstory Month. All proceeds raised from the event will go to Bryant in ACTION for Haiti.
Another fundraiser was the “Love for Haiti” program organized by the townhouse resident assistants. The program raised more than $200 by creating Valentines for students and faculty.
Become a member of the Bryant in ACTION for Haiti Facebook group to get the latest updates.
Updated: February 18, 2010
Bryant in ACTION for Haiti to collect donations on Friday at the Entry Control Station.
Students will be stationed outside the Entry Control Station on Friday, February 19, from 7 to 10 am and 4 to 6 p.m.to kick off the "Change for Haiti" campaign. A table will also be set up in the Rotunda from 12 to 2 pm to collect money that will go directly to relief efforts in Haiti. Donations can also be placed in the Key Drop Off Box at the Entry Control Station.
The campaign is the latest program taking place at Bryant to raise funds and awareness to the dire situation in Haiti.
On Wednesday, February 24, at 5:15 pm in Janikies Theatre, Bryant will host Understanding Haiti: A Teach-in for the Bryant Community. The event is sponsored by Bryant in ACTION for Haiti with support from Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences David Lux, the Department of History and Social Sciences, the Office of Student Affairs, and the Women's Center.
Later in the semester, the French Club, the Arts and Culture Club, the Bryant University Spanish and Culture Club, and the Department of Modern languages will host a "Late Mardi Gras Masked Dance Party" to raise money for Haiti. Tickets for the event, which will take place on Friday, March 19, at 8 pm in South Dining Hall, are $5 for students, $7 for couples, and $10 for the general public.
Members of Bryant Greek Life have begun preliminary discussions to work with Marie Celestin the mother of Bryant student Islindy Merius '13 (Providence, RI), who runs an orphanage in rural Haiti, not far from Port-au-Prince. Bryant students will be collecting a variety of donations that will be shipped to the orphanage.
Last night, as part of Black History Month, the Multicultural Student Union, the International Student Organization, and the Student Programming Board raised nearly $200 as they hosted Ayiti Cheri (Haiti My Love), which featured tradition Haitian food and music.
All money raised by Bryant community will directly benefit two non-governmental organizations: Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti, which is located about 90 miles northeast of Port-au-Prince, and Oxfam America. The hospital, the leading surgical center in Haiti, was spared major damage from the earthquake and has continued working around the clock to treat the injured. Oxfam America was one of the first organizations on the ground in Haiti and has provided clean drinking water for 100,000 people. Read more about Bryant's efforts to help the people of Haiti.
The Bryant in ACTION for Haiti committee will continue to meet regularly to plan future events and fundraisers. To learn more, contact the student organizers Nicole Archambault ’10 (Southington, CT), Chris Brida ’12 (Southampton, MA), Bailey Richards ’10 (East Longmeadow, MA), and Johnny Wells ’10 (Bronx, NY). Faculty and staff members interested in getting involved can contact Women's Center Director Toby Simon or Archambault.
Become a member of the Bryant in ACTION for Haiti Facebook group to get the latest updates.
Women's Director Toby Simon passes along the following links to learn more about the aftermath in Haiti:
Updated: February 12, 2010
Bryant community organizes efforts to help people of Haiti
Bryant in ACTION for Haiti to host fund-raisers and a teach-in to raise funds and educate the campus community about Haiti.
The Bryant community has hit the ground running in its efforts to help the people of Haiti devastated by an earthquake last month. At the beginning of the semester, more than 120 members of the Bryant community attended the first meeting of the Bryant in ACTION for Haiti committee.
Since then students, faculty, and staff, have made plans for fund-raisers and a teach in to raise money, as well as educate the Bryant community about the country of Haiti. The resident assistant staff in the townhouses already collected nearly $200 selling Valentines, which they distributed earlier this week.
The Bryant community has planned a series of events and programs to help the people of Haiti who were devastated by an earthquake on January 12.
Below is a list of upcoming programs:
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The next meeting of the Bryant in ACTION for Haiti Committee will take place on Wednesday, February 17, at 2:30 pm in Heritage in the Bryant Center. Students are encouraged to bring their ideas for fund-raisers and donations to the meeting or the Center for Student Involvement on the 3rd floor of the Bryant Center.
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Also on February 17, the Multicultural Student Union and the Intercultural Center will host Ayiti Cheri (Haiti My Love) as part of Black History Month to raise money for the relief efforts in Haiti.The community is invited to enjoy Haitian cuisine, listen to traditional Haitian melodies, and watch students perform songs, dances, and poetry in a tribute to the hundreds of thousands who perished in the catastrophic earthquake last month.
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Bryant will host a teach-in about Haiti on Wednesday, February 24, at 5:15 pm in Janikies Theatre that will be led by the Department of History and Social Sciences, the Intercultural Center, and the Women's Center.
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Throughout February, the Black History Month Committee will be conducting the “Spare Change. Make Change.” campaign to raise money for Haiti.
Become a member of the Bryant in ACTION for Haiti Facebook group to get the latest updates.
January 29, 2010
Students, faculty, and staff rally together to raise money for the three million people affected by earthquake.
More than 120 members of the Bryant community met on Wednesday afternoon to discuss relief efforts for Haitian people devastated by a catastrophic earthquake earlier this month. The room pulsed with energy as student leaders and staff members from the Intercultural Center (ICC), Center for Student Involvement (CSI), and Women’s Center shared ideas for raising money to help the people of Haiti.
The student campaign will be led by Nicole Archambault ’10 (Southington, CT), Chris Brida ’12 (Southampton, MA), Bailey Richards ’10 (East Longmeadow, MA), and Johnny Wells ’10 (Bronx, NY). ICC Director Shontay Delalue King, CSI Director John Lindsay, and Women’s Center Director Toby Simon are also helping to coordinate.
During a trip to volunteer in Haiti in 2007, Bryant's Women's Center Director Toby Simon trained Hôpital Albert Schweitzer staff on focus group techniques and presented the participants with certificates signed by President Ronald K. Machtley.
All money raised will directly benefit two non-governmental organizations: Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti, which is located about 90 miles northeast of Port-au-Prince, and Oxfam America. The hospital, the leading surgical center in Haiti, was spared major damage from the earthquake and has continued working around the clock to treat the injured. Oxfam America was one of the first organizations on the ground in Haiti and has provided clean drinking water for 85,000 people.
The two organizations were selected because of their track record working in Haiti and their ties to members of the Bryant community. Simon and her husband have traveled regularly to Haiti for the last 15 years to train health care workers at Hôpital Albert Schweitzer. (Read an op-ed piece Toby wrote for the Providence Journal in 2007 about her work in Haiti.) Brida was the first Bryant student to take part in the Oxfam America CHANGE conference last summer.
After the meeting, 75 students signed up to be part of the organizing committee for Bryant in ACTION for Haiti. Nearly 20 ideas were submitted for programs that could help raise money. All members of the Bryant community are invited to bring their ideas for fundraisers, as well as donations, to the Center for Student Involvement on the third floor of the Bryant Center. (Keep informed by joining the Bryant in ACTION for Haiti Facebook group.)
A country in need
During the meeting, the organizers shared some eye-opening statistics about Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Even before the earthquake, only three percent of the nine million people living in Haiti had jobs, and more than half of the population lives on only one dollar a day.
More than 200,000 people were killed by the earthquake, 1.5 million are homeless, and 80 percent of the capital city of Port-au-Prince was destroyed. It will cost more than $3 billion to rebuild a city that will face aftershocks for months, if not years.
Wells, one of the student organizers, says disasters like this put life into perspective. “We never really appreciate what we have until we are assisting others who are fighting for their lives and trying to take care of their families.”
Bryant’s two students from Haiti were home for winter break and know firsthand about the widespread devastation. Both were uninjured thought they have endured traumatic experiences. One has returned to school for the spring semester. Many alumni and members of the Bryant community with ties to Haiti have also been affected by the tragedy, including Jean-Marc Apollon ’90. (Read more about Apollon and his family in a news feature produced by CBS4 in Fort Lauderdale, FL.)
“We have the chance to create something greater than ourselves,” says Archambault. “We can come together, raise money, and make a difference for the people of Haiti.”
Power to make a difference
When Brida learned of the earthquake and the mass destruction it caused, his first thought was to travel to Haiti to assist in the relief efforts. Soon his training from Oxfam America kicked in and he decided he could make more of a difference by organizing fundraisers here on campus. (In the immediate aftermath, Bryant will not sponsor trips to Haiti. The opportunity does exist for future travel to Haiti to assist in the rebuilding similar to what Bryant students did in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.)
“We are fortunate to live in the richest country in the Western Hemisphere, and we have a lot to offer the poorest,” says Brida.
Richards, the president of the Bryant Helps, hopes students realize the power they have to make a positive impact on the lives of the millions of Haitians affected by the tragedy.
“Maybe we cannot individually donate large sums of money, food, or clean water,” she says, “but our efforts to involve others and band together can make a difference.”
Read more about Bryant’s ties to Haiti.
