TO: The Trinity Community
FR: President Patricia McGuire

This week, all of us have watched the news with horror and a sense of helplessness as the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina becomes clearer each day. The tragedy is enormous, almost beyond comprehension. Trinity families and friends in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are profoundly affected. We are particularly mindful of the immediate impact on the families of some of our students and faculty in New Orleans.

Many members of the Trinity campus community have asked how we can help. This week, as the scope of the destruction has unfolded, and chaos appears evident in news reports, it’s been hard to think of an effective response beyond sending a donation to the Red Cross or Catholic Relief Services, or other agencies. Please do so, every donation helps.

However, we would like to do more. Many good ideas are surfacing, and in the weeks ahead, Trinity will reach out in myriad ways to bring our charity, compassion and talent to bear on the situation.

In order to coordinate the many interests of students, faculty and staff regarding the relief effort, I am calling a meeting for Thursday, September 8 at 12:15 pm in Alumnae Hall, South Side. Please get your lunch and come join the roundtable discussion to plan Trinity’s ongoing response to the disaster.

Members of the faculty are already thinking about developing a program to teach about the environmental, social and psychological impact of the hurricane and flooding in New Orleans. Campus Ministry is planning a prayer service. Others are thinking about where and how to volunteer time and talent. We are trying to think about how Trinity can reach out to the colleges and universities who are unable to open for the fall semester because of the disaster.

We can discuss all of these ideas at Thursday’s meeting, but in the meantime, feel free to send me a message if you have a particular idea that you want to be sure is on the agenda.

Also, if any student, faculty member or staff member has immediate family members who have been displaced by this storm, please let me or Dean Bowie know and we will determine the best way to help the family.

Please join me in offering prayers for all of the victims of this terrible tragedy. Thank you for bringing your best thinking to bear on solutions that we might offer.