When the devastating earthquake hit Haiti on Jan. 12, everyone from doctors to celebrities did what they could to help. From medical supplies to monetary donations, citizens of the United States have helped ease some of the suffering of Haiti, and the city of Auburn has been no different.

“My friend and I thought something should be done,” Auburn student Olabiyi Dipeolu said of he and his friend Joey Gault.

Dipeolu is from the Caribbean and said he knows how poor Haiti was before the tragedy. The students held the “One Dollar for Haiti” fundraiser on Auburn’s campus a few weeks ago. The guys believed that if they only asked for donations of one dollar that people might be more willing to give.

During the three-day fundraiser, “One Dollar for Haiti” raised $1,640.

“Most people donated a dollar, but many others also gave $10 and $20!,” Dipeolu said.

Dipeolu added that they wrote a check for the amount to the Red Cross.

Trish Toomer and her husband are the owners of Toomer’s Coffee Roasters in Auburn and the news of the earthquake hit home for them. The couple spent eight years serving overseas in Latin America with “Mission Aviation Fellowship.” Although they never served in Haiti, they knew others that still were.

“When we started seeing the news our hearts sank,” Toomer said. “We thought about going, but since we own our own business and couldn’t leave we did what we could to help from here.”

Beginning Jan. 12 through the rest of the month, the Toomers donated $5 for every one pound bag of coffee that they sold to the Lee County Red Cross for Haiti Relief efforts. Toomer said that they raised more than $500.

“We’ve been really pleased with the outcome,” Toomer said. “When we told our customers that we were donating $5 for their one pound of coffee they bought, many bought another bag.”

But it’s not too late to still help Haiti locally, many other locals are planning future fundraisers.

Matthew Broadway, a senior at Auburn University is in the process of coordinating “Auburn Hygiene Drive for Haiti.” Broadway is hoping to raise as many hygiene items as possible to send to Haiti.

Broadway said that before the earthquake he originally had planned on holding a clothing drive for orphanages in third world countries.

“I wanted to do something that went further than myself,” Broadway said of the clothing drive. “I wanted to look back at my college career and say that I did something that really mattered. I look in my closet and the things that I have everyday and I think ‘I have so much and I give so little.’ ”

Broadway said after the earthquake hit he switched gears and changed the strategy to get something mobilized for the disaster instead. Broadway contacted organizations and got help from those that include Auburn University Campus Crusade for Christ, Committee of 19 and GAiN (Global Aid Network).

Broadway said he knows that there is an overwhelming need for medical supplies, but now as disease contraction rates and contamination increases, the need for personal hygiene is important.

“This is going to become a more important thing as time goes on,” he said. “These people can’t get up and take a shower and clean themselves everyday like we can. We take that for granted.”

Broadway is asking those who would like to donate to fill a two-gallon zip-top bag with items that include a hand towel, wash cloth, toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, comb, wet wipes, shampoo, bandages, tissues, feminine pads and $5 to assist with shipping. The kits may be mailed to Global Aid Network Distribution Center, 1506 Quarry Road, Mount Joy, PA 17552, or can be placed in the donation boxes that Broadway is in the process of distributing which will include all schools on campus, churches, high schools and local business, including The Corner News. Monetary donations will also be accepted. This event will last throughout February.

“Our goal here is to get as much as we can to make as big of an impact as we can for the people who need it,” Broadway said. “I think it’s going to be incredible what the community and the university can do if they put their minds to it and decide to work together. I’m really excited about it!”

Auburn students Kyle Humphrey and Carla Niknejad have also decided to help, but they are doing so through entertainment.

The two are holding “Help Haiti: Music for a Cause” this Friday, Feb. 5.

“It was really just an ‘aha’ moment I had over lunch,” Humphrey said. “A Red Cross commercial was playing on a nearby TV, and I thought to myself, ‘I want to help, but what’s a unique way I could attract more people to donate as well ... music!’ ”

Humphrey added that he knew it was a good idea because he knew the people of Auburn would support such an event.

“We love good music, and we can show love better than any,” he said.

The show will be held at 146 Bragg Avenue in Auburn.

“Courtney Starr was generous enough to lend us his house as a venue,” said Niknejad, who is in charge of social media advertisement for the show. “He has held shows there before.”

Humphrey said that they were guessing that between 70 and 80 people would attend, but the guest list of the Facebook event has nearly 300 guests confirmed.
“If more people show up than the said house can handle, we’ll have a back up house on hand,” Humphrey said.

Five bands that include Jay Haywood, Abstract Disaster, The Quiet Words, Blame Sydney and Man Made Sea are all confirmed to perform.

“Each band has its own style,” Humphrey said. “I would tell people to expect a variety ranging from good ole rock ‘n’ roll to ska to some folk to indie rock.

The show will start at 8 p.m. There will be a $5 cover that will be donated to Doctors Without Borders.

Humphrey added that the show is BYOB, but that some refreshments will be offered.

Auburn University is also doing its part to help Haiti.

The Committee of 19, Auburn University’s student leadership group for the War on Hunger, is donating $15,000 to the United Nations World Food Programme for Haiti relief.

The group was formed in 2004 when the UN World Food Programme approached the university about creating a student campaign against hunger. The name for the committee is symbolic for the 19 cents it used to take to feed a child for one day, which is now 25 cents due to inflation and the rising cost of food.
President Emma Keller has served on the committee since her freshman year at Auburn.

“The issue of hunger is something that has weighed heavy on my heart since I was about 15 years old,” Keller said. “I traveled to Haiti, which as you know is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and it changed my life. After seeing the things that I saw, suffering that no one should have to endure, I knew that I had to do something.”

The $15,000 was collected over the past 18 months through various fundraisers.

“The money that we donated to Haiti is money we have been collecting since Oct. 2008, when we made our last donation of $11,000 to the World Food Programme,” Keller said. “The primary way that we raise our money is through small monetary donations, like spare change collected on the concourse. This is truly a testament that small things really do add up and that one person really can make a difference!”

Keller said that The Committee of 19 had their first meeting of the semester two days after the earthquake in Haiti. Keller said that at the meeting she suggested that the committee have an event for the victims, but then they checked their donation account and they already had enough to make a large cash donation.

“I then asked the committee if they liked the idea and they all agreed, unanimously,” Keller said.

The group has decided that all of their fundraisers for the rest of the semester will go towards the relief efforts in Haiti.

“Haiti is only a short 90 minute flight from Miami, they are our neighbors, and they desperately need our help,” Keller said.