Calling All Hawkeyes & Huskers

Because Midwesterners pitch in and help each other, that's what we do, after the most recent tornado or the blizzard or flood or drought~ without too much fanfare or fuss because after all, next week the neighbor you help will turn around and be there for you ~
because Huskers and Hawkeyes all over the world may see this ~ please read & then pitch in and help a little.

To the "levees"...


From President Sally Mason
To University of Iowa Alumni, Friends, Contributors, and Hawkeye Fans across the world:
Your University is facing what may be the greatest challenge in its 160-year history. Many people have contacted us asking us how they can help, and in response we’re offering a way to do so from wherever you may be.



Unprecedented flooding throughout Eastern Iowa has already impacted our entire arts campus and much more—including beloved landmarks such as the Iowa Memorial Union, the UI Museum of Art, our music and theatre buildings, and Hancher Auditorium. Although it appears the flooding on campus has crested, the high water will still inflict significant damage to the more than 16 UI buildings that took on water. The Iowa River is slowly receding, but it will take months and years for the campus to fully recover.



You can help by making a gift online today to the UI Flood Relief Fund. Please go online to http://www.givetoiowa.org/floodfund to lend your support. Gifts of all sizes are needed and appreciated, and our first priority is to assist UI students and employees who have been displaced from their homes by the flooding. After addressing these most immediate human concerns, we will use contributions to the fund (as available) at my discretion to address other areas of flood-related need throughout the campus.



I encourage the UI community and Iowans generally to help –- whether through volunteering or other sharing of resources –- as they can with the relief efforts for those parts of the state most affected by the flooding. A good place to start in assisting our friends in Johnson and Linn Counties is by visiting http://www.corridorrecovery.org/.



The University of Iowa community has always been far larger than our physical campus, and the Hawkeye spirit has overcome many challenges in the past. I am confident this University will emerge stronger than ever before. UI students, faculty, staff, and community members showed tremendous teamwork and resolve in last week’s massive sandbagging efforts. If you’d like to join them in helping us rise above this crisis, please visit http://www.givetoiowa.org/floodfund.
Our heartfelt thanks for all of your encouragement, and for your ongoing generosity.



ON IOWA!
Sally Mason President The University of Iowa
P.S. For the most up-to-date information on the UI and the Flood of 2008, and for a large gallery of photos, visit the University’s flood information web site at http://uiflood.blogspot.com/.