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More from Milton
Help Haiti

By Kathy Kurtz Ferrari
Staff Writer
3/18/10
Students from Curry College and Delphi Academy are doing their part to help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

On Feb. 28, Curry held a first-ever telethon organized by the school’s communications department. Students coordinated a simulcast on its campus communication outlets for a program called “Curry College: Hope for Haiti.”

The effort was the project of communication students as they linked the media outlets CC8 (the campus television station), the campus radio station, WMLN-91.5 FM, and video streaming on the college’s Web site.

Bringing together a live studio audience, coupled with taped segments, the event raised awareness and donations for the Haiti disaster victims.

“It was quite impressive what the students did, because it helped to get the word out,” said Fran Jackson, director of communications at Curry.

Featured during the broadcast was a panel discussion with students who have relatives in Haiti, as well as members of the Curry community who were on the island when the earthquake hit. The live audience inside the college’s Hirsch Communication Center consisted of around 25 students who listened to accounts told by two Haitian staff members of the college’s dining service, who are employed by Sodexo.

Students also have organized can drives across the campus collecting funds for the cause, and thus far have collected more than $1,500 in that effort alone. A Valentine-themed party was also held in February, called “Hearts for Haiti” with all proceeds going to Haiti relief.

Meanwhile, students at Delphi Academy, the independent kindergarten-through-ninth-grade school not far from Curry College, have also helped Haiti victims. Through a coin drive and bake sales, students raised $2,500 to send to the Red Cross for Haitian relief. And according to the school’s headmistress, Corrine Perkins, another effort is currently under way to buy a goat and chickens to send to Haiti, in an effort of sustained help. Perkins also noted the school has a number of students of Haitian descent.

Perkins’ daughter, Courtney, a 2001 graduate of Delphi Academy, recently returned from Haiti where she volunteered in a collaborative effort with the Help for Orphans International and Scientology Volunteer Minister Program. Traveling to Haiti on Feb. 1, the younger Perkins spent two weeks helping to set up orphanages in the Port au Prince area. She worked at refugee camps, as well, helping to deliver food and medicine to victims of the earthquake. A professional photographer, Perkins shot more than 4,000 photographs, but many images are indelibly imprinted in her mind.

“It was so hard to see children living on the streets,” Perkins said in a phone conversation after her return. “Their stomachs were bloated because they didn’t have enough food. All they had to eat was rice, and they would come up to us looking for water. It’s definitely not something you would ever see here.”

Her mother took part in a similar program after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. She traveled to New York City two days after the tragedy.

“Thinking back, it’s unbelievable,” Corrine Perkins recalled of her experience. “We did whatever was needed. We served food, helped the Fire and Police departments with meals, and cleaned out a temporary hospital.”

She was glad that her daughter had her own opportunity to volunteer in a time of need.

“She really wanted to do something to help,” the older Perkins said. “It was hard for her to leave. There are so many orphans. Kids cried when she left. She felt horrible, and I know she wants to go back.”