By Amanda Sage
The Denison International Relief Effort (DIRE) was started by Ross, a senior from Hamilton, Ohio, along with his co-chair Sarah Borron, a senior from Bargersville, Ind., to raise money and send abroad to areas suffering from a disaster. Originally, the organization began as the Turkish Relief Effort after an earthquake hit Turkey in 1999. That year the group raised $19,000 and used it to set up a mobile hospital in the affected areas. Last year DIRE raised $1,500 to help build a school for drought victims in Kenya and $3,500 to help earthquake victims in India.
This year DIRE members have decided to raise money to help drought victims in Afghanistan. Fundraisers that have been successful in the past, such as "cookiegrams" and an ethnic dinner will be blended with new ideas to raise money.
At the meeting that took place at 8:00 pm this Tuesday, Nov. 13, DIRE members reflected on past fundraisers and made plans for the rest of the year. So far DIRE has sold "cookiegrams" and Trick-or-Treated for donations. This has already brought in about $800. However some DIRE members feel that this is not enough. Borron equated the donations on Halloween to receiving "scraps off their tables." She felt discouraged by the number of wealthy and middle-class people who would only donate some change. Next DIRE members looked ahead towards future fundraisers. The next one planned is similar to the Trick-or-Treat for donations. DIRE members plan to go caroling for donations closer to winter break. Even if some members claim that this sort of fundraising amounts to "nothing more than begging," most were still upbeat about being able to raise money while doing something fun. Even those who doubted their own voices, such as Sarah Mausser, a junior from Fort Wayne, Ind., seemed to be optimistic about the caroling. "Let's not overestimate our singing ability. Just make sure that we only do the first verse of the carols," Mausser said.
The highlight of the DIRE meeting, however, came when talking about next semester's fundraisers. DIRE had had great success in holding a Kenyan dinner last year. This year, however, DIRE would have to compete with a possible Bangladeshi dinner next semester presented by the United Students Against Sweatshops. Marianne Sevachko, a senior from Hubbard, Ohio, is a member of both DIRE and USAS. "The Bangladeshi dinner will be for entertainment and information, but we'll be raising money for our cause," Sevachko said.
Upon questions about what kind of entertainment might be provided at the USAS dinner, Ross suggested perhaps USAS would provide a strip show where the participants would only remove what was made in sweatshops. "Made in Bangladesh," Ross said as he threw off an imaginary piece of clothing. "Made in Mexico," Borron echoed as she mimicked him. Most members were amused, although they were glad that a strip show could not be easily related to the problems in Afghanistan.
Between visions of off-key carolers and Ross and Borron stripping for the cause, most DIRE members left the meeting with smiles on their faces, despite the gloomy start of the meeting.
