ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University Athletic Department has raised more than $1,300 in donations to help benefit those affected by recent devastating hurricanes.
In total, the department raised $1,310, which was made possible largely from a dollar-for-dollar matching gift by alumni Joe Sorrentino '83 and Kara Mackey Dopman '88. Sorrentino and Mackey Dopman are co-founders of 1836 Distilling.
"All of us within Alfred University athletics are extremely grateful for the generosity of those who supported this initiative, and particularly for Joe and Kara's willingness to double the amount collected over our three home football games in September,"
Paul Vecchio, Director of Athletics, said. "The recovery from the devastation created by the hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico will be a long one and we're happy to aid in whatever ways we can to help those communities rebuild."
The monies raised are being sent as a check to the American Red Cross in support of the hurricane relief efforts.
The University is also appealing for assistance for four people with connections to Puerto Rico – three of them Alfred University alumni; another affiliated with Alfred's New York City-based program – whose families and professional colleagues were affected by Hurricane Maria.
Camille Cruz '15 studied art and design and was an avid member of Poder Latino, Alfred University's Hispanic culture and heritage organization. She has set up a GoFundMe Campaign to help her family:
https://www.gofundme.com/aid-the-cruz-family
Edgard Rivera-Valentin '07 is a planetary scientist at Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. He is seeking donations to a fundraising campaign to benefit the families of the observatory staff:
https://www.gofundme.com/AreciboStaffAid-USRA
Jessica Cabrera '08 has family in San German, Puerto Rico. She has been unable to establish steady communications since the Sept. 20 storm struck the island. Cabrera is still trying to identify a local organization through which donations could funnel.
Dr. Viviana Abreu-Hernandez, Director, Research and Program Development at 1199SEIU League Training and Upgrading Fund, which works closely with Alfred University's New York City-based program, is organizing relief efforts for Quebradillas, a rural area of Puerto Rico. That GoFundMe page is
www.gofundme.com/laglorianaporpuertorico
Anyone interested in supporting these and other future assistance efforts can fund one of the organizations directly, through the respective GoFundMe page, or send a check to Alfred University with the notation "Hurricane Relief."