Student group to host typhoon relief benefit dinner

In response to a storm that devastated the Philippines earlier this month, students and U.S. citizens are raising awareness and supporting relief efforts — especially one Pitt organization.

The Filipino Students Association wants to raise awareness and funds to provide relief to the region devastated by the typhoon, and many club members feel personally involved.

On Nov. 8, Typhoon Haiyan, which is known in the Philippines as Typhoon Yolanda, surged through the country with a path of 370 miles wide and gusts that reached 235 miles per hour. One week later, the United Nations estimated the death toll to have reached 4,200 people.

According to the U.N., more than a week after the storm subsided, at least 2.5 million people are left without food in the Philippines, more than 11.8 million people have been affected and almost 1 million have been displaced.

Stephanie Dofitas, a junior and vice president of the FSA, is Filipino and lived in the country between the ages of 6 and 11. She also has family still living there, though she said they were not affected by Haiyan.

Dofitas said that the FSA noticed an increase in interest in the club after the disaster.

“We’re really amazed that people are willing to drop everything and help,” Dofitas said. “A lot of people have been coming to meetings.”

Dofitas said the club will host a fundraising dinner to support victims of Haiyan on Friday at Northway Church on McKee Place at 5 p.m. Admission will cost $10, and the group will donate the funds to the Red Cross for Haiyan relief.

Dofitas added that the club also hopes the dinner event will increase interest in the FSA and encourage new members to join. The club currently has about 20 dedicated members who consistently attend meetings, though not all of them are Filipino.

Dofitas said that is what she likes about the club, because “people from different backgrounds are interested and it is not an exclusive organization.”

She said she hopes that the upcoming dinner fundraiser will spur a long-term donation effort. She added that she is looking forward to the event because everybody connects through food, and it will be a great way to show people the Filipino culture.

FSA board member Jed Belaguas, a senior who was born in the Philippines, said his family living there was not affected. Belaguas also said that despite the outpour of aid worldwide, there is still a lot of work to do.

“There still aren’t enough resources being donated,” Belaguas said.