UNC at Chapel Hill's National Post-Katrina College Summit

Submitted by Mary Small, President, Extended Disaster Relief ; UNC-CH Class of '08; Sociology and Public Policy

Sorry for being so out of touch at the national level—once things got going here at UNC, it was hard to do anything more than keep our heads above water!

I've attached our press release and links to a few of the articles about our events are below. The media (TV and radio included) in the Chapel Hill area was amazing and covered virtually everything.

Highlights included a partnership with local restaurants-one per night-with 10% of proceeds going towards the NGO's we've been partnering with in Biloxi since the storm. It ended up being a great publicity-getter than gave us a chance to talk to all kinds of community members that we wouldn't have otherwise been able to reach. Also, we screened "When the Levees Broke," and had a panel discussion about policy options for rebuilding the Gulf Coast. The daily information table day was hugely successful as well.

As soon as exams end, I'll write the letter to John Edwards and send a copy your way.

Links to articles:

1. Restaurants to raise funds for relief [pdf]
2. Vigil held to support Gulf Coast residents [pdf]
3. Panel discusses current state of affairs in New Orleans [pdf]