New York, NY (PRWEB) October 04,
2011 - On Saturday, October
8th, students from St. George’s University (SGU) – School of Medicine will host
the biannual Wii Olympics. United Wii Stand: Wii Olympics III is a
collaborative effort organized by Urban Humanitarian Projects (UHP) and SGU’s Iota
Epsilon Alpha –
International Honours Society (IEA) to bring awareness and raise funds for a variety
of humanitarian projects worldwide. This event will place student competitors
selected from campus organizations against one another in a giant video game
tournament.
The funds raised by Wii Olympics III will support three international
projects focused to provide aide to communities in need. Donations will be made
to Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to support famine
victims in Somalia through, inner city children in New York/New Jersey through
UHP, and Grenada’s Mount Gay Psychiatric Hospital.
“We’re reaching out to every individual on campus by showing a
promotional video that highlights the projects we are supporting,” said
Christine Jaquish, who along with Jacqulin Cunningham, have been leading the
UHP’s fundraising committee at SGU.
Urban Humanitarian Projects, an organization run by medical students,
has chosen to donate a large percentage of the proceeds to MSF's work in
Somalia. The country has been battling the worst famine in recent history and
is desperately in need of additional aid. Over 12 million East Africans,
including 3 million Somalis, are living in a state of despair and according to
the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
over 750,000 are at risk of death in the next few months. MSF has worked
continuously in Somalia since 1991 and currently provides free medical care in
eight regions. UHP has requested MSF to allocate the funds donated from this
project to benefit the clinics in Somalia.
Wii Olympics III will also support UHP’s Urban
Santa Project (USP), which distributes Christmas gifts to children in
underprivileged communities throughout New York. Each gift is personalized and
hand delivered by Urban Santa and his team of volunteer elves on Christmas
morning. USP embarked with 23 individualized gifts in 2009 to 300 in 2010. UHP
hopes to reach over 1000 children on Christmas day 2011.
A percentage of the funds raised on Saturday will be used to procure
basic necessities such as hygiene products, shoes, and bedding for Mt. Gay
Psychiatric Hospital in Grenada. This 100 bed hospital serves the island of
Grenada, Petit Martinique, and Carriacou. UHP hopes to donate products that
will enhance the quality of life for the patients who are residing at the
facility.
Over the past year, UHP and IEA organized two successful Wii Olympics
events at SGU. With generous donations from students, faculty, and Grenadian
businesses, a total of $68,400 was raised. In the fall of 2010, UHP donated $30,000
to MSF to
support flood victims in Pakistan and in the spring of 2011, $28,400 was raised
to purchase medical equipment for Grenada General Hospital. This amount
includes a generous donation of $29,200 from Dr. Charles Modica, SGU’s
Chancellor, who has matched all the funds raised through the Wii Olympics. The
continued support of Dr. Modica and SGU has allowed UHP and IEA to touch the
lives of thousands of individuals worldwide.
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