UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON RESPONDS TO HURRICANE
KATRINA
Efforts Include Enrolling Displaced Students, Eye Care,
Job Placement, Food and Water Drives
HOUSTON, Sept. 2, 2005 – In June 2001, the University of
Houston community helped families, friends and co-workers recover
from Tropical Storm Allison. Now, four years later, Cougars are
again lending a helping hand, but this time to evacuees fleeing
from the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
One of the many efforts under way for evacuees focuses on displaced
university students.
Students enrolled at universities unable to open because of Hurricane
Katrina are being accepted at all four UH System institutions, according
to Donald Foss, senior vice president of academic affairs and provost.
As of Friday, Sept. 2, more than 200 students from Xavier, Tulane,
Loyola and the University of New Orleans completed the application
process. At least 100 staff members and 20 to 30 student volunteers
were working with these applicants.
Foss also noted that various UH units and programs, such as the
College of Optometry, are expanding their services to the community
as part of their educational process.
“I want to take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude
to all of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni who are working
with us in our efforts to assist our fellow students and colleagues,
and to everyone who has stepped forward with offers of assistance,”
Foss said. “This proves, once again, that the community can
count on the University of Houston in times of crisis.”
Other UH-related hurricane relief efforts include:
• The C.T. Bauer College of Business and the Honors College
have established the Water Fund to purchase enough beverages to
fill an 18-wheeler truck by Friday, Sept 9. Donations to the fund
may be made at any university venue where bins will be placed near
cash registers. To make donations or for more information, contact
Nicholas Broussard at kcinb@aol.com
or at 713-446-2801.
• UH Career Services is creating a Web page where corporate,
business and governmental agencies can post temporary and/or part-time
jobs for displaced workers. The page will be accessible by Wednesday,
Sept. 7 at www.career.uh.edu.
• The M.D. Anderson Library and the Houston Alumni Organization
are collection points of a drive to help children and adults of
all of ages. The drive will collect new or used books, new stuffed
animals, playing cards and dominoes. The library will serve as a
collection point for three weeks. WWW United Inc., a local non-profit
agency, initiated the drive and is partnering with UH and Sterling
Bank. The organization may add more campus collections sites later.
For more information, visit www.wwwunited.org.
• The Metropolitan Volunteer Program (MVP) began campuswide
food, clothing, toys and supplies drive on Friday, Sept. 2. The
MVP office is located in the University Center Underground, Room
53. Donors will receive free T-shirts. For more information, call
713-743-5200.
• The Muslim Student Association will offer blue and white
support ribbons for a $1 donation. All proceeds will be donated
to the American Red Cross. Ribbons can be purchased at the MVP office
and at various locations on campus. The ribbons can be worn in hope
and support on the hurricane victims.
• Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management
student organizations are collecting canned vegetables, cereals,
canned juices and bottled water through noon, Friday, Sept. 9. A
collection bin is located in the lobby of the hotel’s south
wing. For more information, contact Mary Douglas at 713-743-2423.
• The College of Optometry is extending services to Louisiana
and Mississippi evacuees displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Patients
who show a valid ID from either of these two states will receive
a 70 percent discount for eye exams and will be offered new glasses
at cost. There is no charge for repairing glasses. For patients
without insurance or money, the University Eye Institute will provide
professional services, also at no charge.
For more information, call 713-743-2020.
• The Department of Clinical Sciences and Administration’s
registered pharmacists faculty have volunteered their services to
local pharmacies and hospitals in the city. Fourth-year pharmacy
students currently on clinical rotations with hospitals and pharmacies
in the Houston area have volunteered to provide services to people
at the Astrodome.
• The College of Pharmacy Office of Student Affairs is currently
assisting displaced first- and fourth-year pharmacy students of
Xavier University with admissions, transfer and placement issues.
• KUHT-TV, Houston PBS will accept clothing, diapers and
baby formula 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday – Friday at the Melcher
Center for Public Broadcasting, 4343 Elgin St. For more information,
contact Amanda Moore at
713-743-8416 or ahyland@houstonpbs.org.
• The Graduate School of Social Work is assisting with childcare
and with direct mental health crisis intervention.
• The Counseling and Testing Center and the Psychological
Research and Services Center are helping on a limited basis, for
individuals suffering from anxiety, post-traumatic stress syndrome
and depression.
• The American Red Cross will accept donations on behalf
of evacuees at the Moores School of Music “Collage”
concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, at the Moores Opera House.
• The UH Law Center, through a special section of the People’s
Law School, is assisting with legal questions, and helping with
Federal Emergency Management Agency paperwork by utilizing law student
volunteers.
• The Houston Speech and Hearing Clinic in the Department
of Communication Disorders is offering to help survivors replace
their lost or damaged hearing aids. The clinic will charge patients
on a sliding scale based on income, and officials will work with
each client on payment. The clinic, which is located in the Clinical
Research and Services Building, also will provide some speech therapy
for those whose therapy has been interrupted. To make an appointment
for hearing aids, call 713-743-2898; and to make an appointment
for speech therapy, call 713-743-2899.
• Cougar PEP and UH Wellness are sponsoring a monthlong food
drive throughout September. The organizations are accepting canned
goods at the UH Wellness offices, University Center underground
(UC) in Room 35 and the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center (CRWC)
in Suite 1038; CRWC administrative offices; the Women’s Resource
Center, UC Satellite in Room 7; UH Police Department; and Learning
Assessment Services, Student Service Center 1 on the second floor.
For more information, call 713-743-5496 or 5461.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research
and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers
and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate,
civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university
in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and
service with more than 35,000 students.
For more information about UH visit the universitys Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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