Campus Announcements Archive

Hurricane Dorian relief: How to help responsibly

The recent hurricane has left more than 70,000 people homeless and in need of shelter, food, medical and sanitary supplies. Life in paradise as we know it, will never be the same. The Bahamian people are fighting for survival and you may be asking, “How can I help?”

Donating Cash is Best
In the early stages of the response phase, most organizations are unable to accommodate any material goods. Unsolicited donations create a challenge of storage and sorting when focus is needed on response and recovery. Cash offers voluntary agencies the most flexibility in obtaining the most-needed resources, food, water, medicine, and equipment, from secure and familiar supply chains. Check out this Donate Responsibly Campaign video for more reasons!

Here are a few donation efforts we are aware of:

  • Iowans for the Bahamas
    Michael Cooper ‘20, current Drake student and Bahamian native, has connected with students at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University who have set up a GoFundMe.
  • Grand Bahama Disaster Relief Fund
    Set up by The Grand Bahama Port Authority and funds will be managed by the non-profit Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina with donations tax deductible in the US.

Volunteer Locally
Meals From the Heartland has a goal of packing and shipping 285,120 meals and raising $50,000 to fund the meals.  Sign up to volunteer here!

Educate Yourself & Others
Read up on the latest news and follow along on social media. Here are a few suggestions:

Trending Hashtags:
#BahamasStrong   
#IowafortheBahamas   
#BentnotBroken

Following the Aftermath:

Hurricane Dorian Science:

Missing People Search: https://dorianpeoplesearch.com

— Renee Sedlacek, director, Community Engaged Learning