Tsunami Relief Tops Half Million

After a month of fundraising, Harvard students, faculty, and staff have donated over $500,000 to 26 different charities supporting relief efforts in areas affected by the South Asian tsunami.

Of that money, $245,877 came from the University itself after a pledge last month to match donations of up to $100 by Harvard affiliates, Senior Director of Community Relations Mary Power said yesterday. Individual contributions totalled $307,255.

Of the $553,132 that has been contributed to non-profit organizations, nearly a third went to the Boston Chapter of the Red Cross.

The average donation per person of the 3,359 Harvard students, faculty, and employees who contributed came in just under $100, Power said.

Donations can still be made through Community Gifts Through Harvard, a University-sponsored program.

“There was a sense that the community was going to be very generous because the response was so immediate,” Power said.

She said few had wagered guesses as to how much would come in because of the unprecedented nature of the event.

“There are few benchmarks of campaigns like this one to look at to create an expectation of what would come in,” Power said.

In the past, the University has established a $1 million education fund to benefit the children and spouses of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and a matching program in 1999 for the renovation efforts of the student-run Harvard Square Homeless Shelter, Power said.

Nearly two months after the tsunami hit the coasts of South and Southeast Asia, student groups across campus are still organizing fundraising efforts.

Nine student groups constitute the Harvard College Tsunami Relief Effort (HCTRE), an organization that has coordinated on-campus fundraising and outreach.

HCTRE has a charity concert slated for later this month and a benefit dinner scheduled for next month. The Feb. 19 charity concert, “Changing the Tide: Harvard Responds to the Tsunami Disaster,” will feature student performances.

All proceeds from the concert will be matched by Harvard Habitat for Humanity, according to artistic coordinator Rebecca R. Gong ’08.

HCTRE contributed $17,982 to UNICEF, far surpassing their $5,000 goal, South Asia Association Co-President Prital S. Kadakia ’06 said.

Proceeds from red donation boxes in dining halls and local restaurants, Memorial Hall services, and study break fundraisers helped raise the money.

—Staff writer Margaret W. Ho can be reached at mwho@fas.harvard.edu.