Tupelo Disaster Relief Drive
OXFORD, Miss. – University of Mississippi students are leading campus efforts to provide relief to Tupelo-area residents hit hard by deadly tornadoes on Monday (April 28).
James Williams of Troy, Illinois, and members of Sigma Pi fraternity have set up tables in front of the Ole Miss Student Union to collect items for survivors. Donations, such as toiletries, nonperishable food items, water, clothes and shoes are being accepted from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Sunday (May 4). The donations also can be dropped off at the Office of Dean of Students (Student Union, Room 422) and at the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (Lyceum, Room 223). Items will be delivered to the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Members of the fraternity will be accepting donations on Sunday, May 4 at the Jackson Avenue Center from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Monetary contributions can be made to the UM Foundation for the Ole Miss Family Fund. Online giving is encouraged by visiting https://www.umfoundation.com/makeagift/online.php?school=studentaffairs.
To assist a student directly, efforts should be directed to the specific individual or their family.
Williams, a senior criminal justice major, has also created a Facebook event page. View it at https://www.facebook.com/events/267311410107550/?notif_t=plan_edited.
“We all know people that have been affected by this,” he said. “It hits close to home, so we just wanted to go out of our way to lend a hand.”
Williams was particularly moved after viewing a friend’s post on Facebook.
“She and her family had lost everything, and I wanted to help,” he said. “I asked my fraternity brothers if they’d help me. They said, ‘Of course.'”
At the end of each day’s collection, items will be sorted at the fraternity house. All items will be transported using a truck provided by Armstrong Transportation of Memphis to Tupelo on Friday or Monday.
Buffalo Wild Wings of Oxford has also agreed to donate ten percent of all profits on Friday, May 2 to the relief drive. To participate, patrons are asked to print out and show servers this coupon:
.
UM administrators are supportive of Williams’ and the students’ efforts.
“Our campus community is highly committed to service, and we’re so proud of this student-led initiative to reach out to others in need across the state and beyond,” said Brandi Hephner Labanc, vice chancellor for student affairs. “They are particularly to be commended for doing so at a time when the semester is coming to a close and many are preparing for final examinations and commencement activities.”