The brothers at Xi Colony, along with the whole Drexel Greek community, were devastated when we found out about the earthquake that hit Haiti. Instead of sitting around, we came together and thought up Project Hydrate Haiti. Since no one on campus was taking an initiative to raise awareness or money for the tragic event that occurred, we thought that we could work something out not only to help the victims of Haiti but to also help the case of Delta Epsilon Psi to be recognized on campus. Our initial goal was to fill an 18-wheeler truck with water bottles. The idea sounded good so we quickly began working on it. We came in contact with an organization called MADRE, an international women’s human rights organization. They said they would supply the truck and transportation for us, which made the idea a little more realistic.

Once we had all the logistics figured out, we realized that it would not be possible to collect water bottles and store them. Also, we would not be able to advertise on campus due to the fact we are an Interest Group on campus seeking recognition. To overcome the first hurdle, we decided that we would scratch the idea of collecting water bottles and proceed with cash donations. We then contacted the presidents of the Multi-Cultural Greek Council, Pan-Hellenic Council, and Inter-Fraternity Council and asked them if we could make it a collaborative effort to throw our event. We spoke with our Fraternity and Sorority Life director and she was very pleased by what we were doing. She even helped us out by advertising on campus and helping us get in touch with different organization.

Once we had everything set, we began to sell wristbands that said “Hope For Haiti” on them, along with collecting cash. The Drexel community began to notice what we were doing and started to help us more by using their own funds to set up tables or just supplying us with space so we could raise money. For recognition purposes, this looked great. They all saw that if this Interest Group was organizing such events, what would they do when they were recognized. Thus far, we have raised an estimated $650. We are going to continue and sell wristbands until for another week and then donate our money to MADRE.