The University has teamed up with the Filipino Alliance to coordinate aid for relief efforts in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the island nation Nov. 8.
The Filipino Alliance will participate in a “global weekend of solidarity” this weekend in collaboration with international charity organizations to raise money for storm victims, said former alliance co-chair Rexy Josh Dorado ’14. The weekend’s highlight will be a benefit variety show held at 5 p.m. Sunday in List Art Center with proceeds donated to aid relief programs in the Philippines.
President Christina Paxson will match the first $2,500 the alliance raises, Dorado said. The group has raised about $500 so far, said alliance member Dumichel Harley ’17.
The variety show’s name, “Bayanihan,” can be translated into English in multiple ways, including “being a nation together” or “being heroes for each other,” Dorado said.
Members of Brown’s Filipino community “have the sense of trying to give back” to others as part of their cultural identity, Dorado said. Giving back to the community “is not always a feeling that we know what do with,” Dorado said, adding that the “call to action” to help storm victims is a way for the Filipino community to contribute.
The University may help organize a trip to the Philippines for students to aid in reconstruction efforts, said University Chaplain Janet Cooper Nelson, adding that she hopes the trip would happen in the summer or fall of next year.
“We need to respond with kindness and relief, but we need to respond with smarts” by harnessing students’ intellectual experiences to help with ongoing redevelopment efforts in damaged areas, Nelson said. Students who are unable to donate should focus on other ways to help, she said, using what they learn in the classroom to make a long-term impact on global redevelopment.
The alliance began fundraising by collecting donations at the “Legends of the S.E.A.” performance Nov. 16, said event organizer Heidi Dong ’14. The show was part of the Asian American Heritage Series sponsored by the Third World Center, Dong said. The event raised $451, Harley said.
Alliance members are still deciding to which charities they will donate collected funds as the group determines the best way to provide immediate aid and long-term support to storm victims, Dorado said. Members will provide collected donations to the Brown Global Health Initiative, which will forward the funds to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and to smaller on-the-ground relief groups composed of doctors and other volunteers in the Philippines, Dorado said.
Group members recognize the Filipino community has a sense of urgency for helping storm victims, and alliance members hope to “trap that energy in a bottle,” Dorado said.
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