The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Residence Hall Association signed on to help with a Haiti benefit event, tying a thread between the landlocked Midwestern school and the small Caribbean country.
The Office of Academic Support and Intercultural Services will work with RHA's Diversity and Wellness Group to host "In Unity There is Strength: Benefit for Haiti" in the Nebraska Union Ballroom on Feb. 23.
RHA will donate $4,000 and volunteers to the event to help supplement OASIS's tightened programming budget.
OASIS program coordinator William Waters spoke to the RHA senate about plans for the event and answered members' questions about details and logistics.
Waters has made annual trips to Haiti for 24 years and said he feels a special commitment to the disaster relief.
"The devastation that's hit that country is beyond comparison to anything we've seen in our lifetime," Waters said.
"How do you wrap your head around that? And what will an event like the one we want to host on Feb. 23 accomplish? A lot."
Based on attendance from past fundraising events, Waters expects about 400 people to come to make donations and for the food, drinks and entertainment.
The money raised will come from attendees' free-will donations and benefit schoolchildren in a village outside Port-au-Prince.
"We talk a lot about helping Haiti, but it's nice having a staff member with close ties," said Craig Lennon, RHA adviser and UNL's assistant director of residence life student leadership.
"You know you will see the result (of the donations); you're not just giving money to a void."
Waters said he hopes to hand deliver the money when commercial travel to Haiti is reopened.
If he can't, he will have a friend in Haiti deliver the money — either way, he promises photos of the place and people the donations will help.
"I want to be very transparent about this," Waters said.
"I want everyone to know where the money's going."
RHA's $4,000 will go toward the event's costs, including food and drinks, advertising, sound equipment and several entertainment groups, most of which charged a discounted price for the cause.
Waters also invites students to perform at the benefit.
"It sounds like an awesome event," Lennon said.
"I think I would have been interested in this even if it weren't raising money for such a tremendous cause."
The senate passed the bill to help sponsor the event before it has passed the spring semester budget.
RHA usually helps some of OASIS's cultural events but has been interested in having more of a collaborative relationship, said RHA's DAWG chair Kevin Rush, a sophomore education and human sciences major, and this benefit will fulfill that goal.
Despite the geographical distance, the event gives UNL residents an opportunity to connect with Haitians as global citizens, said RHA President Sammy Nabulsi, a junior political science major.
"We are the largest organization on campus. We're 6,000 people strong," Nabulsi said.
"It's not a huge toll on an individual's pocket, but when you get 6,000 people giving a small donation, that goes a long way."
andreavasquez@dailynebraskan.com
In Unity There Is Strength: Benefit For Haiti confirmed performers
DJ DLUV
Results May Vary
Dominique Garay and Oscar Rios
Result featuring DJ XL
African drummers
Ashanti
is a member of the 
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