How to give through CFD; benefit week planning set

The southeast Asian tsunami tragedy has touched people’s lives worldwide, including those in the WSU community.
Some, like Bhaskar Bondada, an assistant professor of horticulture at WSU-Tri Cities, were affected directly. Five members of his family, including his mother and brother, barely escaped his brother’s home in the Nicobar Islands before it was swept away by the tsunami.

While his family members suffered only minor injuries and are safe, they are left with nothing. However, the WSU Combined Fund Drive is providing a way for faculty and staff to help tsunami victims like Bondada’s family. And various WSU groups are planning a week-long tsunami relief program Jan. 31-Feb. 5. Here’s how you can help:

* The CFD, which enables faculty and staff to give through payroll deduction, accrues interest with donations so member charities receive 105 percent of contributions.

To donate, visit the CFD Giving Station at https://www.givingstation.com/?cid=3172, or you may write a check to your favorite charity and send it through campus mail to the attention of the Combined Fund Drive at campus zip 1830. If you are unsure of charities offering aid, see the listing of tsunami aid charities at https://www.charity.org/news/indian_ocean.php.

More information about the CFD may be obtained at https://www.wsu.edu/wsucfd.

* With support from various WSU student and international groups, Kristine Reeves, coordinator of the International Center, is working on plans for a week of tsunami-relief events. One idea put forth is for a benefit concert.

There will be a planning meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18, in CUB B-25. For more information, call the center at 335-4223 or e-mail Reeves at Kristine_reeves@wsu.edu.