KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Students at the University of Tennessee joined a list of students at colleges across the U.S. working to help India respond to a rise in COVID-19 cases.
Indian Student Associations across the county established a fundraiser with a goal of $100,000 to help GiveIndia's humanitarian efforts. The organization set up the "India Covid Response Fund — 2" after hospitals in the country saw the second wave of COVID-19 cases.
The fund supports health infrastructure in the country. It is meant to help people find beds for patients, purchase oxygen machines and buy recommended medicines. It also helps purchase PPE kits for workers, as well as N-95 masks and sanitizers.
The Indian Student Organization said that the second wave of COVID-19 has led to around 2,600 daily deaths and around 350,000 new daily cases.
"We welcome university students, faculty, alumni, and other institutions to support this effort and help save lives," said the students. "The action is time-sensitive, so we kindly request you to consider donating."
They also said that $200 would support around 20-30 people in a community with food and oximeters, while $500 would help communities buy an oxygen concentrator.
They managed to raise more than $25,000 in just three days of the campaign. The national campaign was organized by students at Carnegie Mellon University.
The fundraiser also tracks which team collects money. Anyone who wants to donate can select the Indian Student Association at the University of Tennessee under "donation details."
The fundraising campaign has a goal of $100,000 and is called Help India Breathe.
"We may be far from the crisis sites, but we are far from powerless," the students said. "We will continue to march forward together with determination and purpose in our efforts to help raise more money to combat the pandemic."
