Haas Community Day

It's National Volunteer Week and the EWMBA Community Service Committee has lined up two exciting events. Reach Beyond Yourself and take part in the HAAS Community Weekend!

**Both events are kiddo friendly! Bring your families!**

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SATURDAY

HAAS Community Weekend - Hemophilia 5K Walk!

Hemophilia is a genetic bleeding disorder that prevents the blood from clotting normally. The main symptom is uncontrolled, often spontaneous bleeding. Internal bleeding into the muscles and joints can result in pain, swelling and, if left untreated, can cause permanent damage.

We will have teams representing the FTMBA, EWMBA, and Alumni. The Cesar Chavez Park is a hidden gem in Berkeley. Bring your kids and walk along the shoreline overlooking the Golden Gate bridge. Support us by joining a team or donating to us!

When: 4/17/2010 @ 9:00 AM

Location: Cesar Chavez Park in Berkeley

Sign up: http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/LOXXSROWWDJETFLCSENR/hemo   

Contact: Vikas Meka (vikas_meka@mba.berkeley.edu)

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SUNDAY

Haas Community Weekend - Urban Sprouts!

Join your fellow Haas MBA students while helping SF kids learn about healthy eating! We'll work on a school garden helping build a compost area, worm bin, and new garden bed. Make sure to wear long pants and closed toed shoes. They will have all the tools and supplies that you will need but bring your own water bottles! If you have gardening gloves, bring those as well.

Afterward we'll treat you to lunch nearby!

When: 4/18/2010 @ 9:00 AM

Location: Urban Sprouts at Martin Luther King Academy - 350 Girard St. in San Francisco

Sign up: http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/ABKTNZBVARTTDDIZECUH/communitydaysf   

Contact: Monika Matthews (monika_matthews@mba.berkeley.edu)

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Remember both events count toward hours required to graduate as a Haas Community Fellow!

Eggster Easter Egg Hunt - April 3

Every year a group of dedicated Berkeley students organize Northern California's largest Easter Egg Hunt to benefit higher education causes. This is a great chance to bring your family up to campus for a fun day of outdoor activities.

What: 16th annual Eggster Hunt and Learning Festival
When: April 3, 2010
Where: North side of the Valley Life Sciences Building (VLSB) on the UC Berkeley campus (Please refer to the map of campus, upper part of grid C3.)
What to bring: The Eggster Hunt and Learning Festival is an outdoor event, so we suggest that you bring:
Plenty of water
Sunscreen
Hats
Sunglasses
Layered clothing for changing weather
***We do not serve any food at our event (other than the candy in the eggs), so we recommend that you also bring a snack or even a picnic lunch for your family to enjoy.

Tents for Haiti

A message from a fellow student:

Hi!  My name is Kate Hanpachern and I am a first year EWMBA student.  One of my friends, an American aid worker in Haiti, was killed in the January earthquake.  Through this tragedy I have been in contact with some aid workers in Haiti. They have said that their immediate need is tents because the rainy season is coming very soon (and has even started).  Tents will allow the people of Haiti to stay dry, warm, and healthier so they can continue the necessary work of rebuilding their county. 

I am trying to raise money to buy tents. I am working with an organization in Atlanta that handles the logistics of getting tents to Haiti and distributing them to various aid groups.  This group in Atlanta, www.ahomeinhaiti.com, has worked out a deal with Coleman (the outdoor company/tent-maker) to buy tents in bulk for a very reduced price.  The minimum order quantity is $2,000.  My goal is to raise at least that much in the next week. 

If you each donate $10, then we raise $2,000.  If others get involved too, we can make a significant difference.  Please help!  And we are happy to take donations larger than $10!

For more information, please see the presentation I created: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBPmibXUkTw

You can also find more information on the Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=335653484736

To donate:

-You can give me cash or check.

-You can donate to my PalPal account so we can track our progress: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=YEFGTV85658WL

-Or, if you feel more comfortable going direct: http://ahomeinhaiti.org/   (If you donate directly, please send me a note letting me know the amount so I can keep track.)

Thank you very, very much!!!

Kate

Haas Community Fellows - Logging Volunteer Hours

Just wanted to remind all of you that the deadline to submit your hours for the Haas Community Fellows Program is April 15th of your graduating year. This is especially important for those of you who are graduating this May! Don't forget!

If you're wondering how to log your time, it's simple. We've worked with Beth and the IT team to create a new and easy way for you to submit your hours. Just sign into the Haas student directory at https://studentdirectory.haas.berkeley.edu/ and click on the "Service Hours" link at the top of the page to start recording your hours!

 

To fill out the form you'll need dates of service, amount of time spent volunteering, and contact information for the organization. If you volunteer through a Haas event, you can just put the Community Service Committee as your contact. Click Save and you'll see a list of all of your events. No more keeping track of Excel spreadsheets!

If you want to know more about the Haas Community Fellows Program, guidelines and/or FAQs, you can always visit the EWMBAA Community Service Committee blog, or go directly to the info sheet: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddhfvn45_6f5h6p5fc

Haiti Fundraising Update

Haas EWMBA students have given over $1,700 to various charities helping in the earthquake relief efforts. Thank you to everyone who is helping!

Donating to the Right Cause

The EWMBAA Community Service Committee chose to raise funds to support Yele Haiti. The CSC chose Yele because it has been in operation in Haiti since 2005 and will continue to do so long after the relief efforts are completed. They know how to utilize local resources, they get through local government issues more quickly and efficiently, and the money will be spent on long-term recovery rather than only immediate needs.

We believe in Yele Haiti. So, it was rather shocking to see an articles contending that founder Wyclef Jean personally profited from donations to Yele. (Nonprofit tax experts found no serious wrongdoing.) Upon thorough review, we found the allegations to be based on a superficial understanding of how nonprofits utilize resources and report business transactions. Given greater information stemming from the power of national press, however, we have to acknowledge that Yele may not have always handled things properly in the past. With the current scrutiny, what is clear is that earthquake relief donations will go to help those in need. If you have any questions or would like further data, please contact Monika.

Putting all legal matters aside, what matters most is helping the victims of the earthquake. Port-au-Prince is in ruins. The destruction and loss of life from the earthquake and multiple aftershocks is beyond anyone's imagination. We ask that you give what you can to an organization that you feel proud supporting. Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors posted a brief guide to disaster funding that includes a list of organizations with strong ties to Haiti.

• CARE - With an active presence in Haiti since 1954, CARE's work there focuses on HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, maternal and child health, education, food security, and water and sanitation.
• Catholic Relief Services (CRS) - CRS has more than 50 years of experience in Haiti and currently serves some 200,000 of the poorest and most marginalized Haitians in the areas of health and nutrition, education, water and sanitation, HIV/AIDS, agriculture, peace building and migration.
• Oxfam - With a staff of 200, including a 15-member emergency response team, Oxfam International brings expertise in water, sanitation and public health in Haiti, as well as local knowledge and community networks established over the past decade. 
• PLAN - Having worked in Haiti since 1973, the organization currently implements child-centered community development programs featuring Health, Education for Girls and Boys, HIV/AIDS, and the Rights of the Child.
• Save the Children - Having worked in Haiti since 1985, primarily in Port-au-Prince and the Central Plateau region, Save the Children provides health, education, protection and food security programs to vulnerable children.

In addition to Arabella's list, we'll continue to add Haiti-based charities here as we identify them:

• Haitian Health Foundation - improves the health and well-being of the poor, the sick, and the infirm of Jeremie to break the bonds of poverty, which tie so many Haitians to a life of great deprivation
• Hope for Haiti - improves the quality of life for the Haitian people, particularly children, through education, nutrition, and healthcare
• Lambi Fund of Haiti - assists the popular, democratic movement in Haiti to help strengthen civil society in as a necessary foundation for democracy and development
• St. Bonafice Haiti Foundation - helps the people of the desperately poor rural region of Fond des Blancs
• What If? Foundation - feeds and educations impoverished children in Port-au-Prince to provide hope and opportunity for a brighter future

Partners in Health has been providing health care in Haiti for over 20 years and is currently working to address the needs of those injured in the quake.

Regardless of which group you choose to support, we'd love to track participation. Please email Monika Matthews to let tell us about it (monika_matthews@mba.berkeley.edu). We've already raised over $1,200!!!

Thanks!
The CSC Team

Earthquake Relief

In light of the devastating impact of the earthquake in Haiti, we would like to unite as a student body to show our support. While there are a multitude of organizations you can support, the EWMBAA Community Service Committee has elected to raise funds for Yele Haiti.

www.yele.org

Yele was founded in 2005 by notable Haitian, Wyclef Jean. It is a grassroots movement that brings global awareness to Haiti while providing programs in education, arts, sports, the environment. Yele focuses on manageable projects that promote long-term progress, which in the past have included rebuilding schools, sports programs for youth, and food distribution. Currently, Yele Haiti is dedicating 100% of its efforts to earthquake relief.

The CSC chose Yele Haiti because of its strong and long-lasting ties to the people of the country. Just as with Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the India Ocean Tsunami in 2004, nature has brought to the public eye already dire economic conditions. And as we can see now looking back on those disasters, it will take a great deal of time to help this region recover. Yele Haiti has been active in tnhe country and will continue to work toward progress long after the major recovery organizations are gone.

You can help by donating to Yele Haiti in one of two ways:

1. Text YELE to 501501 to donate $5. The amount will be added to your cell phone bill.

2. Donate more by visiting the Yele Haiti website.  www.yele.org

Please make sure to let us know you donated so we can tally results! Email Monika Matthews (monika_matthews@mba.berkeley.edu) with the amount you donated to have it added to the total.

Thank You!!!