Messiah employees and students assemble 250 health kits for hurricane survivors.

Students prepare health and hygiene items to be shipped to shelters for hurricane victims.

Messiah community unites in hurricane response

Though Grantham and New Orleans are separated by hundreds of miles, the students and employees of Messiah College quickly came to the aid of their neighbors in the Gulf Coast. The question that resounded all over campus was “How can we help?”

• In early October, students and employees joined forces in a tangible relief effort, donating and collecting health and hygiene items such as toothpaste, soap, hand towels, and bandages. These items were then assembled to form 250 health kits (each with an approximate value of $12), which were shipped via Mission Central to shelters in the Gulf Coast region.
• Messiah College has also been the source of generous financial gifts for relief work. Soon after Hurricane Katrina hit, the College made an institutional gift of $10,000 to Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) and, as of November 15, the Messiah community had raised an additional $9,383. Characteristic of the College, a great deal of creativity went into this gift: collections were taken at a chapel service, car wash, soccer game, and the Agapé Center for Service and Learning.
• Messiah College has issued a standing offer to help a displaced family to relocate to the central Pennsylvania area, live in a College-owned house, and also obtain campus employment. For the fall semester, Messiah extended a tuition-free invitation to students whose institutions were closed due to the hurricane.