Business and PR students join to raise funds for Haiti

By Daniel Boot

Big help: Captain Laura Burrell of the Salvation Army, Meghan Cunningham, and Allana McNutt both Public Relations students, attend the Hearts for Haiti donation station at Loyalist College. Photo by Daniel Boot.Students at Loyalist College have heart, and on Jan 22, they proved it.
Public relations and business students, raised a combined $1,913 for Haiti relief efforts.
There will be another opportunity to donate on the 26th of January, as the business students will be selling bottled water once again.
The volunteering students could be seen walking around the school throughout the morning of January 22nd, selling bottled water and bags of cinnamon hearts, and had tables set up in the cafeteria.
The two separate groups of students said they were getting tired of the lack of action being taken by Loyalist in the wake of the Haiti earthquake, which happened on January 12. The quake has claimed an estimated 200,000 lives, and has also left millions homeless.
Ashley Matheson, a public relations student, came up with the idea behind “Hearts for Haiti.”
“She decided we needed to do something,” explained Alanna McNutt, a fellow PR student. “Loyalist hasn’t done anything yet, so she thought it was time,” McNutt continued.
The students decided to team up with the Salvation Army, to collect donations and submit them to a charity.
“The Salvation Army has one general account where all the money raised goes,” explained Captain Laura Burrell, of the Salvation Army. “The money being raised right now will be mainly used for water, food and medical supplies, and 90 per cent of the funds raised will go straight to Haiti relief efforts,” said Burrell.
The Salvation Army currently has 700 people in Haiti, helping with rescue and relief efforts.
The PR students hoped to raise a total of $1,500 in the Hearts for Haiti program, where they were offering bags of cinnamon hearts for a minimum $2 donation. However, people were urged to donate more, if they could.
“A lady came over, told us it was her birthday, and wrote out a cheque.” mentioned McNutt, who said she was impressed with the number of students and faculty donating.
“As students, we all feel like we’re struggling financially with rent and tuition, it makes me proud to see that the school is doing what they can to help,” she continued.
“As an outsider standing here watching people donate, I am really very impressed,” added Burrell.
“The world relief effort is inspiring to watch, and in Canada, we can do so much more. That’s why we’re doing this here at Loyalist. Every penny helps,” says Meghan Cunningham, a public relations student, who helped to collect donations.
The first-year business students were also feeling the need to give, as they set up a bottled water for Haiti fundraising campaign.
Annie Venne said, “When I saw what was happening in Haiti, and saw that nothing was happening at Loyalist, we decided to take action as a group.”
The organizers set up this fundraiser with the aid of the Red Cross. The bottles of water were donated by Culligan.
The students didn’t have a set goal in mind, “as long as it’s giving from the heart, whether we raise $100, or $1,000, it doesn’t matter, as long as we tried, and contributed as much as we could,” said Venne.
For donation or volunteer inquiries, visit the Canadian Red Cross at www.redcross.ca, or visit the Salvation Army at, www.salvationarmy.ca