Collection: January 29 thru February 21

Sorting and Packing event: Tuesday, February 27

Story written by Jessica Dunahoo 1.7.18

The Student Education Association (SEA) at Governors State University will be organizing a disaster relief project funded by a National Education Association (NEA) grant. This event will benefit residents of Texas affected by the hurricanes in fall 2017. Thousands of people lost everything including: their homes, clothing, books, and basic school supplies. This project and grant focuses on helping South Houston High School, along with their students, teachers, and families.  SEA at GSU will be collaborating with the high school, NEA retired teachers, and the SEA chapter at San Jacinto College.

The first goal of the event is to ameliorate the outside area at South Houston High School (SHHS).  The outside area used for lunch and classes was damaged by the hurricane. Money received from the grant will be used to purchase paint, trees, shrubs, and picnic tables. Teachers at SHHS and students in the SEA at San Jacinto College, as well as other people in the community, will spend a day in February installing the picnic tables, planting trees, and painting the outside wall in order to create at least one beautiful area at the school that students, teachers, and the community can enjoy.

The second goal of the disaster relief project is to collect school supplies, as well as personal care items, to be donated to school children in Texas. The donation drive for this event will take place between January 29 and February 21, 2018.  Items for this project will can be dropped off at the SEA office (G228) or in one of the donation boxes in G building, 2^nd floor until February 21^st. The culminating event of this project will take place on Tuesday, February 27^th from 3-5pm in the G Atrium/Lobby. At this time, SEA members, faculty, and other volunteers will work together to sort items and package them for transport to Texas.

Donations: we are accepting only certain items that are listed on the flyer (please do not drop off other stuff). We are also accepting cash donations to purchase paint, trees, and shrubs.

For more information, please visit the SEA at GSU website and social media.  If you have any questions, or would like to donate or volunteer, please contact the student officers or faculty advisors organizing this project.

Student leaders: Jessica White (jwhite7@student.govst.edu), Reyna Hernandez (rhernandez7@student.govst.edu)

Faculty advisors: Dr. Katy Hisrich (khisrich@govst.edu), Dr. Xiaobo She (xshe@govst.edu), Dr. Amy Vujaklija (avujaklija@govst.edu)