"Hearts for Sri Lanka" is a campaign at SUNY Fredonia now underway to provide relief to victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami that wreaked havoc on communities throughout Asia Dec. 26. Funds are being requested throughout the campus community until Feb. 11 to raise at least $5,000 to send on Valentine’s Day to the California-based "Room to Read" , which builds schools and libraries for children in Asia.
 
"This is a trusted and award-winning non-profit organization which has been dedicated to building and supplying schools and libraries in Asia since 1999," University President Dennis L. Hefner said. "It is experienced in working in this part of the world, and has a focused mission that is close to all of us at SUNY Fredonia—teaching and learning."
 
Already busy with its projects in Asia, "Room to Read" quickly put on its fast-track a plan to raise $1 million to rebuild Sri Lanka’s educational infrastructure. "The project SUNY Fredonia is supporting is a long-term restoration effort that will extend beyond the primary relief efforts," President Hefner said.
 
Fredonia’s Student Association President Patrick Fanelli and Volunteer and Community Services Coordinator Joyce Smith are heading a committee of faculty, staff, and students who are in charge of the donation drive. Much of the work in reaching the $5,000 goal will be done by students, Ms. Smith said.
 
The campus committee is working closely with John Wood, the founder and CEO of "Room to Read." Wood keeps in touch with the campus by email even though he’s currently working in Asia. A former Microsoft executive who gave up his lucrative job to establish the non-profit organization, Wood has been awarded the prestigious Draper Richards Fellowship and the Gleitsman Foundation’s Award of Achievement.
 
Tax-free donations for the "Tsunami Fund" at SUNY Fredonia are being accepted by the Fredonia College Foundation, 272 Central Ave., Fredonia, NY, 14063. Anyone interested in donating should make their checks payable to Fredonia College Foundation, and designated for the "Tsunami Fund."