November 10, 2005

Purdue students plan collections for tornado victims

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University students will be collecting donations for victims of the tornado that struck the southwestern Indiana area over the weekend and killed 22 people.

On Saturday (Nov. 12), students will set up tables near Ross Ade Stadium. The tables will be at Stadium and Northwestern; Stadium and Intramural; Stadium and University; and Intramural and Tower Acres Drive. Volunteers will begin collecting donations from 10 a.m. until kickoff and then again after the game ends for another hour.

More than 550 Purdue students are from Vanderburgh and Warrick counties, where the tornado hit, according to the Office of the Dean of Students.

One of the students involved in the fund raising is Tim Jones, whose family lived less than two miles from where the tornado struck.

"There have been many disaster donation requests in the past year, but what makes this one so unique is how incredibly close to home it has hit," said Jones, a senior in the School of Industrial Engineering. "Charities around the country are all low on funds because of the recent disasters of Katrina and Rita. Every little donation will help fellow Indiana residents rebuild their homes and move on with their lives.

"My house was OK and untouched, but some people my mother works with lost everything, including their lives."

Students will again collect donations from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. next week at various campus locations. The locations include Stewart Center on Monday (Nov. 14); Purdue Memorial Union in the space across from Freshëns on Tuesday (Nov. 15); Class of 1950 Lecture Hall on Wednesday and Thursday (Nov. 16-17); and near the mural in Stewart Center on Friday (Nov. 18).

"We have shown in the past the power that Purdue students have when we work together," said student body president Jessica Hoffman, a senior from St. Leon, Ind., majoring in advertising and public relations. "Because so many Purdue students are from the area most affected by the tornado, I hope community members give what they can to help."

Organizers of the tornado relief fund also will send letters out to area businesses to request additional donations for victims.

Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu

Sources: Jessica Hoffman, (765) 494-7201, jdhoffma@purdue.edu

Tim Jones, (765) 532-8331, tcjones@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

To the News Service home page