In the days following Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of the Gulf Coast, members of the Catawba College community have come up with creative ways to help storm victims.  These efforts have allowed faculty, staff and students to be a small part of a larger national effort and to show solidarity with their adversely affected Southern neighbors.

T-Shirt Sales Raise Funds for Hurricane Katrina Relief
Members of the Catawba College community pitched in to help victims of Hurricane Katrina with t-shirt sales.

Thanks to the efforts of the College residence life staff and the bookstore, some special Hurricane Katrina t-shirts were produced and sold for a donation of $10 or more at Catawba’s Sept. 3 football game against Livingstone.  Members of the residence life staff and the bookstore also sold the shirts.  And as of Sept. 8, almost all of the shirts had been sold and more than $2000 raised through sales and donations. 

College Bookstore Manager Cindy Most offered a special thanks to Salisbury-based business, Ashlee’s Embroidery, for giving then a great deal on the base price of the t-shirts and for printing them up so quickly.  She said out of the 144 t-shirts initially ordered, only six remained on Sept. 8.  And while there are no immediate plans to print up a second batch of the shirts, Most said she would consider it if the demand warrants it.

On-Campus Forum Raises Funds for Hurricane Katrina Relief
An on-campus forum held Thursday, Sept. 8 in Tom Smith Auditorium on campus raised close to $500 which will be donated to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina Relief.

Members of Catawba College’s faculty gathered to discuss the various effects and perspectives of Katrina on the Gulf Coast.  They included Drs. Gary Freeze, Jamie Slate, Carla Eastis, John Wear, Michael Bitzer and other faculty, along with Dr. Barbara Hetrick, College vice president and academic dean, as moderator.  These faculty engaged the audience in a question & answer session on the political, economic, hemispheric, cultural, environmental, and social & racial implications of this natural disaster.

Attendees were asked to donate $1 (or more) for the cause at the front door of the auditorium.

Possible Fall Break Trip to Katrina–devastated Gulf Coast
College officials are contemplating a relief effort trip to devastated areas in Mississippi over fall break   They are currently gauging interest in this trip and making preliminary contacts concerning it.