September 2005

LIFE partners with Red Cross to assist flood victims

Life University and the American Red Cross have partnered to utilize the Life campus as a MegaCenter, assisting those displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

The Red Cross Joint Relief MegaCenter, located in Life’s Sports Health Science Complex, is providing emergency financial assistance to the disaster victims who have arrived in the Atlanta area since the Aug. 29 hurricane, so they can purchase food, clothing and medicine.

The Metro Atlanta Red Cross, which has more than 200 volunteers on campus, is serving hundreds of families daily at the Cobb County MegaCenter.

Other agencies represented at the MegaCenter include the Georgia Department of Human Resources, Department of Community Affairs, Department of Driver Services, Department of Education, Department of Labor, and other state agencies, as well as the Atlanta Council for Aging, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Social Security Administration.

The center is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. So far more than 70 Life University faculty, staff, and students have donated more than 500 hours supporting the MegaCenter’s relief efforts. As well as volunteering at the MegaCenter, they have provided free chiropractic care at the Life clinics.

Life’s President, Guy F. Riekeman, DC, said that Life has also joined other Atlanta-area colleges and universities to help displaced college students continue their undergraduate education with a minimum of disruption. Although Life is best known for its College of Chiropractic, the university also offers a variety of undergraduate programs in its College of Arts & Sciences. The school will provide those students a quarter’s free tuition and practical assistance to obtain student loans, find suitable housing, cut through red tape, and otherwise make their transition here as smooth as possible, he said.

In addition to those relief efforts, Life is working to help its current students, faculty, staff, and alumni cope in the aftermath of the storm. Riekeman said the school is identifying and providing relief to students and employees whose families have been affected. The university also is working with chiropractic associations in the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to assist chiropractors affected by the storm. Anyone interested in helping Life University with the relief effort should contact the school at 770-426-2888, e-mail katrinahelp@life.edu, or visit the Web site at www.life.edu.

Source: LifeUniversity, www.life.edu

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