Students Helping Students
August 29, 2005: Hurricane Katrina crashes into the Gulf Coast region of the United States, leaving an unprecedented trail of destruction.
While Phi Theta Kappa's Center for Excellence in Jackson, Mississippi, sustained only minor damage, Mississippi and Louisiana community colleges were not so lucky. The Society's International Officers acted quickly to establish Students Helping Students, a Phi Theta Kappa Hurricane Relief Fund.
Chapters responded generously, collecting backpacks, school supplies, and books to replenish storm-ravaged libraries. Others volunteered to serve as Point of Distribution Chapters for the goods collected.
Phi Theta Kappa chapters and regions also found many creative ways to raise money for Students Helping Students, such as selling Mardi Gras beads, participating in school carnivals and selling pizza cards. 2005-06 Division II International Vice President J.T. Bullock found a unique way to raise funds - by recording and marketing his own slam poetry CD, Smart Aleck.
Phi Theta Kappans have raised $57,000 to help affected students stay in school until graduation. The most severely impacted colleges began distributing the money through a grant application process this spring. However, according to Phi Theta Kappa's Executive Director Rod Risley, there is much more work to be done.
"Unless one travels through southern Mississippi and the coastal area of Louisiana, it is nearly impossible to comprehend the destruction and devastation that has impacted these five colleges and their students," said Risley. "We need to double our efforts to provide these students the resources to earn their degree. Otherwise, their prospects for a bright future will dim significantly."
Send financial donations for Students Helping Students to Phi Theta Kappa International Headquarters, c/o 2005 Hurricane Relief Fund, 1625 Eastover Drive, Jackson, MS 39211.
