Campus reaches out to Jefferson to help clean up flooding
Released: June 26, 2008
In typical Warhawk fashion, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is reaching out to help local communities clean up the flooding that has devastated much of southeastern Wisconsin. This Saturday, June 28, UW-Whitewater students and staff will give their time to help clean up at the Jefferson Area Business Center, 218 Wisconsin Dr.
The clean-up effort begins at 9:30 a.m. and will run all day. UW-Whitewater volunteers will help haul away wet cardboard and spray wash the interior building offices.
“Here, in Whitewater, we lucked out in not seeing much direct damage from the floods, but Jefferson was hit very hard,” Political Science Lecturer Paula Mohan said. “My friend, Joann Miller, lives in Jefferson and has an entire floor of a business center that will need to be cleaned out.” That business center is the Jefferson Area Business Center.
The Saturday volunteer effort is the beginning of an attempt to organize UW-Whitewater student groups to help clean up in Jefferson. UW-Whitewater senior Greg Torres, a member of Whitewater Student Government as well as a Jefferson County supervisor, has already played a key role in recruiting volunteers to help with sandbagging and other flood relief efforts.
“I think that many times students see or hear about natural disasters and think nothing of them until it happens right down the road from them,” Torres said. “It’s important now that students come together to participate and help during this time of need.”
Anyone interested in helping this Saturday or any future Saturdays should contact Mohan at 608-658-6463 or Torres at 262-490-1734.
- Melissa DiMotto,dimottom@uww.edu
