Some 1,000 supporters heed call to help UTMB recover from Hurricane Ike
A Houston foundation’s recent $60,000 contribution to the University of Texas Medical Branch’s Hurricane Recovery Fund has vaulted total commitments to the fund past $1 million. The Greater Houston Community Foundation gift comes from a fund established by Houston Mayor Bill White to help fill unmet needs for victims of Hurricane Ike, primarily in Galveston, Harris, Brazoria, Chambers, Montgomery and Fort Bend counties. The contribution will be used to help UTMB students affected by the storm.
Recovering from its worst storm damage in more than a century, UTMB has received contributions from approximately 1,000 well-wishers across the nation to help the university rebuild after Ike roared ashore on Sept. 13. The hurricane produced storm surge that flooded most campus buildings and kept the institution closed until early October.
Since then, supporters have made contributions large and small to the UTMB Hurricane Recovery Fund to help repair damage, restart research, educational and clinical care programs and restore normalcy to students’ lives after many lost their residences and personal belongings. Major contributors to the fund include the AT&T Foundation, Bank of America, the George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation and the San Angelo Health Foundation.
Mindy L. Scott, an occupational therapy student in UTMB’s School of Health Professions, is thankful for the fund after it helped her replace the possessions she lost when her apartment flooded during the storm. Contributions to the fund enabled her not only to buy a new printer, pens, folders and other school supplies but also to cover the deposits and fees for moving into a new home.
Scott said that it would have been much harder financially for her, as a student, to replace everything she lost in the storm had she not been helped by the Hurricane Recovery Fund.
“Returning to class, replacing items and finding a place to live was all very stressful, and the fund helped ease that stress,” she said. “I am so grateful for all of the assistance I have received from the university, School of Health Professions and occupational therapy faculty and my peers. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I hope, that was made easier because of the support I received from others.”
Dr. David L. Callender, UTMB president, said he has been impressed by the generosity that has flowed into the fund from all over Texas and the country.
“We’re seeing our friends and alumni step forward as never before to ensure that this great institution will continue its outstanding work in education, patient care and biomedical research,” Callender said. “We’re very grateful for this wonderful gift from the Greater Houston Community Foundation that will help students affected by Hurricane Ike continue their studies at UTMB.”
To contribute to UTMB’s Hurricane Recovery Fund, visit www.utmb.edu/contribute/.