NU Stands with Pakistan announced today that it raised more than $17,072 — twice its goal of $1 per undergraduate. The money will go to Oxfam America, a charity working to bring food and aid to people affected by the flooding that began in Pakistan in late July.
“We were not expecting this,” said Weinberg senior Sana Rahim, a leader of the group. She said that when the fundraising drive began three weeks ago, NU Stands with Pakistan had hoped to raise a little more than $8,000.
The announcement marks a high point for NU Stands with Pakistan, which brought in money from student groups, individual students, faculty, staff and alumni. The group set up tables throughout campus to collect donations, sold about 450 t-shirts for $10 each and partnered with student groups ranging from Dance Marathon to the Kellogg Students’ Association. One of the biggest single donations came from A&O Productions, which donated about $5,300 — $1 per ticket sold to its Blowout concert.
Rahim said group members will speak later this week with Oxfam, which took notice of their fundraising drive. She said she hopes to set up a partnership with the charity to allow students to track Northwestern donations.
“I think the big concern with aid is like, ‘Oh, this is so much money, and we have no idea where it’s going,’” she said.
This is the second time this year that Northwestern students have raised tens of thousands of dollars for humanitarian crises. NU Stands with Haiti raised $18,500 in February for victims of the earthquake that struck the nation.
Although NU Stands with Pakistan expects that donations won’t swell much larger than $17,000, it is working now on programming to keep students engaged with the crisis in the region.
“We definitely want to keep the conversation going,” she said. “We feel like we’ve produced a movement on campus.”