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09/02/05 - Reinhardt Reaches Out to Survivors of Hurricane Katrina |
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In response to the calls for refugee housing, Reinhardt College in Waleska, Ga., is converting one of its former faculty homes to accommodate people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. In addition, a fundraising drive and/or service project is being planned, and the College spring break mission trip will journey to the hurricane-ravaged area. “Reinhardt has so many compassionate and generous students, faculty, staff and alumni, and our hearts go out to those who are suffering as a result of this horrific storm,” said Reinhardt President Dr. J. Thomas Isherwood. “We all want to help, and we want to be sure our responses will truly provide assistance to those who need it most.” Interim Director of Residence Life S. Monique Jordan is spearheading the effort to welcome a displaced family or families to the Waleska campus. “Reinhardt is blessed to have the resources to respond amazingly to unfortunate situations like this one,” she said. “We are outfitting a three bedroom home that can comfortably house up to six to eight Katrina survivors. The house is being prepared by our maintenance and housekeeping staffs, and furniture will be added to the home. Aramark, the College’s foodservice partner, has graciously agreed to feed the family in need for 60 days at no cost.” Jordan has already contacted Reinhardt students, faculty and staff, as well as local relief agencies, to locate a family or families to occupy the space. The College Chaplain, the Rev. Leigh S. Martin, has changed the destination for the Spring Break Mission trip from the Bahamas to somewhere within the hurricane-ravaged areas. The chaplains’ office plans this annual trip, and last spring the group journeyed to Arcadia, Fla., to assist in hurricane clean-up. Martin is also spearheading an oncampus fundraising or service project to assist the Katrina victims. “People have been asking me left and right what they can do,” Martin said. “We will probably put together something that will also involve the Waleska United Methodist Church and the local community, and utilize UMCOR’s guidance and expertise to help determine what needs we can best address.” UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, is the not-for-profit humanitarian agency of The United Methodist Church. Since 1940, its mission-- providing relief in disaster areas, aiding refugees and confronting the challenge of world hunger and poverty-- has helped to heal the hurts of humanity in nearly 100 countries. UMCOR maintains a corps of trained disaster response specialists for quick reinforcement of national efforts and keeps a supply of relief materials in warehouses for dispatch when and where required. It also trains disaster response specialists in their own countries as part of a global ministry by a global church and works in partnership with other international agencies. With an enrollment of more than 1000 students, Reinhardt College is a four-year liberal arts institution with a residential Main Campus in Cherokee County (Ga.) and an off campus center in Alpharetta, Ga. Affiliated with The United Methodist Church, Reinhardt offers 33 programs of study ranging from business and communications to education, liberal arts and music. Since its founding in 1883, the institution has focused on being “the way college should be” by meeting student needs one student at a time. For more information, please contact Reinhardt at 770-720-5526 or 1-87-REINHARDT or see the College website at www.reinhardt.edu.
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