Haiti Response
In Their Own Words
Pepperdine has set up a place for the community to share their impressions, experiences, and ideas in the wake of the devastating earthquakes in Haiti. Please contribute your own words via e-mail at pr@pepperdine.edu.
Q&A with Junior Jazz Brice on "Hugs for Haiti"
Brice is the brains behind the "Hugs for Haiti" initiative on campus, in which students offer a hug to anyone willing to donate $1 or more to the Haiti relief effort. So far, the initiative has raised over $2,429.
Where did the idea to offer hugs for donations come from?
JB: When the earthquake hit in Haiti, I think many people felt the tug on their hearts to do something. I'm a member of Pepperdine's chapter of International Justice Mission, and we were brainstorming ways we could help. I've always been a big hugger, and being a big fan of both hugs and alliteration, "Hugs for Haiti" seemed like a perfect idea. I tossed the idea around between a few friends, and they all encouraged me to go for it.
How did you recruit "huggers"?
JB: I sent out some facebook and text messages to people I knew who I thought might be interested in being "huggers", and sent out a facebook event that explained what we would be doing, so that people would be aware and could carry a dollar around with them if they wanted to help.
It was a very grassroots, organic effort. A couple friends and I made signs from the back of old posters that were put around campus and from paper bags. About 10 people signed up for shifts to hug throughout the day, and we posted up in the Caf. The plan was to hold up our "Hugs for Haiti - 1$" signs and ask for donations, gladly accepting more than 1$, accepting money and not hugging if people weren't inclined to, and giving out free hugs to people who didn't have the money to give.
How did people react to the idea?
JB: I had absolutely no idea how poeple would react. I prayed beforehand and turned the entire effort over to God, praying that He would open people's hearts and use however much money was raised to bless and care for the people of Haiti.
I honestly thought that $50 would be a successful day—that's 50 hugs! I was pretty astounded at the actual results. While there were certainly a few people who made it a fascinating social experiment but didn't contribute otherwise, the majority of people were so supportive. Pepperdine staff members and students reached out where they saw the need. Most donated 1$, but a few donated up to $20! We ended up raising about $1,200 in one day.
What have you learned from this experience?
JB: I really learned that grassroots efforts are powerful. It's way easier to walk past a sign and some posters asking you for money that it is to walk by a person, much less a person smiling at you and asking you for a hug
Student-Produced Video Provides Call to Action
Two Seaver students participating in a study abroad semester in Lausanne, Switzerland, Nathan Baker and E.B. Krawczyk, created a video featuring their classmates to encourage students to contribute to the Haiti relief cause. Watch the video here.
