Now, the group seeks to collect another $5,000 by May 15.
Babita Upadhyay works with the IU Office for Diversity Education and Multicultural Affairs and was one of the staff members responsible for organizing a campus forum and vigil following the earthquake.
She said the group raised its goal after noticing sustained interest in Nepal within the IU community.
“After reaching our goal quickly within five days, we realized that there was still a tremendous amount of interest in the community and beyond to help Nepal,” she said.
Geophysics professor Michael Hamburger, another member of the IU4Nepal team, said the money will be given to Global Giving’s Nepal Earthquake Fund, which supports more than 25 local and international aid organizations.
“We selected Global Giving’s Nepal Earthquake Fund for our fundraising efforts because of their reliability as an international philanthropic organization and for their ability to quickly get support to critical agencies working on the ground in Nepal,” he said.
Hamburger said the fund has already raised nearly $2.5 million for Nepal disaster aid so far through other fundraisers similar to the one at IU.
The funds will go toward both short-term emergency response efforts and long-term reconstruction aid, Hamburger said.
Dikshant Uprety, a Ph.D. student in the department of ethnomusicology, said a major focus of the organization so far has been emergency relief aid.
“Since entire villages have been wiped out, the major focus of organizations working on the ground has been tents, blankets and food,” he said. “The funds have also been utilized to procure medical supplies and surgical instruments.”
For community members who have family in Nepal, the support, both monetary and emotional, from the IU community has been overwhelming, he said.
Shraddha Maharjan, a senior and Nepalese-American student who has several family members in Nepal displaced by the earthquake, said the success of IU4Nepal has made her emotional and immensely proud to be a Hoosier.
“I did not expect to receive so much community support,” she said. “There are very few Nepalese students on campus and no Nepali student ?organizations.”
Maharjan said there hasn’t been a single day since the earthquake that she hasn’t thought about the photos in the news, the many people who are homeless, including most of her family, and the increasing death toll.
“Frustration and helplessness are probably the strongest feelings I’ve had during this time, but with the love and charity we’ve received for our IU4Nepal campaign from so many friends, acquaintances, family members and even strangers, I now feel more hope and optimism for the future of Nepal,” she said.
