By CONNOR RYAN
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
In the wake of Typhoon Haiyan that struck the Philippines on Friday — possibly killing as many as 10,000 people — Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university, called on Fordham students Monday afternoon to donate money to aid the ongoing relief efforts.
“Right now, what the people of the Philippines need more than anything else are relief funds: no other needs is as urgent, nor is any other kind of relief as effective,” McShane said in an email to the university community.
He continued: “If our tradition of being men and women for others means anything, it means donating as generously as you can to help the people of the Philippines in their hour of agony.”
But, as of Monday afternoon, it was not clear if the university, itself, would be donating funds to relief aid.
“We’re a university, and we have a budget process,” said Bob Howe, Fordham’s director of communications, via email. “As a rule, there are no snap decisions about university finances.”
Howe said that as of Monday afternoon he was not aware of any Fordham community members that were directly impacted by Typhoon Haiyan.
Still, the collections at all masses at Rose Hill’s University Church, as well as the Lincoln Center and Westchester campuses, will be donated to the Catholic Relief Services for Philippines aid, McShane said. Additional donations may be passed along directly to the President’s Office at Rose Hill, where it will be forwarded to Catholic Relief Services.
Administrators in various university offices are currently reaching out to various parts of Fordham’s community to determine whether they or their families have been impacted by the storm, McShane said.
–Full Text of McShane’s email–
Dear Members of the Fordham Family:
By now I am sure you have heard about the unimaginable suffering and death caused by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. The scale of the devastation is not to be understated, and it follows on the heels of a major earthquake last month which had already depleted relief funds and supplies. As of this writing, there are an estimated 10,000 dead and nearly 620,000 displaced in the wake of the storm, with another 9.5 million affected—altogether fully ten percent of the population of the Philippines.
Right now, what the people of the Philippines need more than anything else are relief funds: no other need is as urgent, nor is any other kind of relief as effective. Therefore, the collections at all masses in University Church and at our Lincoln Center and Westchester campuses, will be donated to the Catholic Relief Services for Philippines aid, including special collections for that purpose (those collections began Sunday, Nov. 10, at Rose Hill, at all of the University Church masses). Any additional donations may be made to the Fordham Disaster Relief Fund.c/o the President’s Office, Rose Hill Campus. All donations received will be sent to Catholic Relief Services.
At the same time, the offices of University Mission and Ministry and the Student Affairs are reaching out to students, faculty, and staff to determine whether they or their families have been affected by this disaster, and what the University can do to help them.
I know you all join with me today in prayer for the victims and survivors of Haiyan. I have no doubt that you will be part of a great outpouring of compassion for the Filipino people, and that in the coming weeks you will take part in many services and relief efforts on their behalf. But today, now, I will say this: if our tradition of being men and women for others means anything, it means donating as generously as you can to help the people of the Philippines in their hour of agony.
I know that you will rise to the challenge (the Fordham community has always done so). Know that you, too, are in my thoughts and prayers.
Sincerely,
Joseph M. McShane, S.J.
