Help Out Iowa
As some of you may know, I am a University of Iowa Alum, and am proud to have spent a good four years in Hawkeye country. UI, Iowa City/Coralville, and basically most of the state have been rocked these past few weeks. Yesterday the UI Foundation established a recovery fund. I know that a lot of Lincolnites have ties to Iowa. Over to you.
From President Sally Mason:
To University of Iowa Alumni, Friends, Contributors, and Hawkeye Fans across the world:
Your University is facing what may be the greatest challenge in its 160-year history. Many people have contacted us asking us how they can help, and in response we’re offering a way to do so from wherever you may be.
Unprecedented flooding throughout Eastern Iowa has already impacted our entire arts campus and much more—including beloved landmarks such as the Iowa Memorial Union, the UI Museum of Art, our music and theatre buildings, and Hancher Auditorium. Although it appears the flooding on campus has crested, the high water will still inflict significant damage to the more than 16 UI buildings that took on water. The Iowa River is slowly receding, but it will take months and years for the campus to fully recover.
You can help by making a gift online today to the UI Flood Relief Fund. Please go online to http://www.givetoiowa.org/floodfund to lend your support. Gifts of all sizes are needed and appreciated, and our first priority is to assist UI students and employees who have been displaced from their homes by the flooding. After addressing these most immediate human concerns, we will use contributions to the fund (as available) at my discretion to address other areas of flood-related need throughout the campus.
I encourage the UI community and Iowans generally to help –- whether through volunteering or other sharing of resources –- as they can with the relief efforts for those parts of the state most affected by the flooding. A good place to start in assisting our friends in Johnson and Linn Counties is by visiting www.corridorrecovery.org.
The University of Iowa community has always been far larger than our physical campus, and the Hawkeye spirit has overcome many challenges in the past. I am confident this University will emerge stronger than ever before. UI students, faculty, staff, and community members showed tremendous teamwork and resolve in last week’s massive sandbagging efforts. If you’d like to join them in helping us rise above this crisis, please visit http://www.givetoiowa.org/floodfund.
Our heartfelt thanks for all of your encouragement, and for your ongoing generosity.
ON IOWA!
Sally Mason
President
The University of Iowa
P.S. For the most up-to-date information on the UI and the Flood of 2008, and for a large gallery of photos, visit the University’s flood information web site at http://uiflood.blogspot.com/.
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