The WUSTL Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) is asking for campus-wide help and donations for victims of a 7.9-magnitude earthquake that struck China’s Sichuan Province May 12 and left more than 20,000 people dead and tens of thousands more injured or missing.
“We must try our best to help our people and our country overcome this crisis,” said Shuo Luo, president of CSSA, a university-wide graduate student group with members spanning the University’s seven schools.
A doctoral student in the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Luo is a native of Chongqing, located some 250 miles southeast of the earthquake’s epicenter. Fortunately, his family and friends have remained unharmed, he said, but he worries about those who are suffering.
“In the short term, the most feasible way to provide help is through donations,” Luo said. “We have identified donation channels to organizations recommended by the Chinese government and to other groups such as the Red Cross. These are listed on the CSSA web site.”
In addition, Luo and his colleagues are coordinating a series of campus-wide fundraising events to take place in the coming months that will include a mid-autumn festival party. They plan to direct proceeds to the rebuilding of schools in devastated areas.
WUSTL’s Community Service Office, along with the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, is backing CSSA’s efforts.
“We share both the sadness and the determination our CSSA students have demonstrated as they’ve stepped forward to lead efforts in the University community for China’s rescue and rebuilding efforts, said Elaine Berland, Ph.D., associate dean in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. “As citizens of the world, we join hands in the face of this tragedy.”
Said Luo, “I sincerely hope our contributions will help those affected people, especially the children, to reconstruct their hometown and return to normal life. We thank everyone very much for their deep concerns and willingness to help our people and our country.”
To learn more about CSSA and how to support the Chinese earthquake relief effort, go to cssa.grad.wustl.edu.