Fellow Students,

Recognizing our duty to provide compassion and support, student leaders of Missouri State have established Bears Backing Haiti: 50 in 50, a relief campaign aimed at  raising 50,000 dollars in 50 hours to aid Springfield-based Convoy of Hope in their relief efforts.

The campaign will begin 6:00 pm tonight and continue through 8:00 pm on Thursday, January 21st in front of the Plaster Student Union and around campus. Volunteers with buckets will be available during the 50 hours; additionally, donations can be dropped off at Commerce Bank in the Plaster Student Union.

The campaign will conclude at 8:15 p.m. Thursday evening with a Candle Light Vigil and presentation of a check to Convoy of Hope at the Bear Paw.

Students of Missouri State have often set the standard when responding to tragedies whether it be a hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast or an earthquake devastating a small island-nation. Showing your support for the people of Haiti can be as simple as telling a friend of the campaign or foregoing your morning coffee and donating to the cause. To volunteer for the campaign call the Office of Student Engagement at 836-4386.  I hope that you will join me in this endeavor and keep the victims and their families in your thoughts. Together we can bring to the people of Haiti the friendship and hope that is required of the common humanity we share.

Respectfully,

-Christopher W. Polley

Student Body President