The University of Denver community has exceeded its goals in raising money to help the earthquake-stricken Caribbean nation of Haiti.
DU students, staff, faculty, organizations and departments donated $13,610 to the fundraising campaign. Originally, organizers had hoped to raise $10,000.
“I’m just really proud that the University came together around a single cause,” says Jami Duffy, program coordinator for DU’s Social Justice Living and Learning Community.
More than 200 individuals and 30 student organizations and DU departments donated money to Haiti, according to campus fundraisers.
Proceeds from the campaign will go directly to the Lambi Fund of Haiti, a nonprofit dedicated to building democracy and sustainable development in Haiti.
In the days and weeks after the earthquake, DU hosted a number of events to raise money and awareness for Haiti, including a barbecue on Driscoll Green, a panel at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies and an acapella concert.
The University can and should continue helping Haiti through education, Duffy says.
“Now that we’ve exceeded our fundraising goal, our next goal should be to do some truth telling,” Duffy says. “We could do some panels on what’s happened in Haiti as well as the history of the nation. It’s time to do an education piece around Haiti at a University level.”