International students to help with tornado relief
A group of about 100 Purdue students -- most international -- will head to southern Indiana on Monday to help clean up after a series of tornadoes devastated the area last week.
Students from China, India, Taiwan, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Malaysia, Kenya, Brazil and Costa Rica will be involved in the trip, says Mike Piggott, the University's community relations director.
During the one-day trip, the students will be working at multiple sites to help clean up debris and to distribute supplies to those in need, Piggott says. The students are expected to leave campus at 6 a.m. and to depart from southern Indiana at 5 p.m.
The Office of Community Relations is organizing the trip; the Office of International Students and Scholars is securing student volunteers. A Purdue police officer also will accompany the group, Piggott says.
The students will be able to take with them donations such as bottled water, canned foods, cleaning supplies, baby food, dog food, snacks and toiletry items. Those interested in sending donations may contact Piggott at 49-49386, at 765-427-6950 or via email at piggott@purdue.edu.
The University is coordinating the relief effort through a United Way affiliate based in Jeffersonville and through Henryville First Baptist Church, which has been asking for volunteers to help. Both organizations are based in Clark County, where damage was heavy following the March 2 storms.
The tornadoes were part of a group of storms that rampaged across the Midwest, killing 39 and injuring dozens more. On Thursday afternoon (March 8), news media reported that the Clark County towns of Nabb, Henryville and Marysville remained under a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. About 700 county residents remained without power.
