Advertising sophomore and Ecuador native Alexandra Torrez created a fundraising campaign, along with fellow Ecuadorian students, to help rebuild the country after the recent earthquake. Two fundraising events were recently held at the MSU spring football game and the rock to help raise money for the campaign.
Donations were collected to send to the Red Cross in Ecuador and their last fundraising event will take place this Thursday, May 5 at Tropical Smoothie from 4 to 9 p.m., where 15 percent of the sales will go to their cause.
The idea is to send money to the areas hit hardest by the earthquake, which are mostly coastal. By now there are more than 600 people dead, more than 2,000 injured and many thousands more who have lost their houses and businesses. Since Ecuador is a fairly small country, comparable to the size of a U.S. state, it does not have the means to rebuild after the disaster.
When she first came to MSU, Torrez was the only undergraduate student from Ecuador and wanting a sense of community, she spent a lot of time looking for other students from her country.
When the earthquake occurred, Torrez shared the situation on social media and encouraged other students to donate through a link. But, “it just felt wrong,” she said, “it just wasn’t enough.”
Seeing the photographs and videos of the wreckage, was devastating to her. Although it is normal for Ecuador to have small earthquakes, the magnitude was of a much higher scale this time. “I felt powerless being here and not being able to help,” Torrez said.
When she found out that her Ecuadorian friend at MSU’s family was safe, she reached out to her wanting to start a fundraising campaign because she was also studying public relations.
“The crazy thing is that (our campaign) is very powerful,” Torrez said. During the course of the campaign, she has found more Ecuadorian students. “I spent so long looking for fellow students from Ecuador, and they were right here on campus all along,” she said.
Torrez loves how strong the community is here at State. “I think it’s the power of the Spartans at Michigan State University,” as she mentioned an instance of where a student went out of her way to contribute to their cause.
Coming to Michigan State, she sees the community as part of her own, not just Ecuadorians. “They’ve become like family to me,” she said, “any time I need something or if I am in trouble, they’re there for me.”
“Now, Spartans are also my people,” Torrez said.
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