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CMU alumni donate to students stranded in Fayette

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 4/28/20

Even though schools around the country have closed, Central Methodist alumni Donn and Lynette Harrison haven’t been able to see their son, who is stuck at the University of Prince Edward …

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CMU alumni donate to students stranded in Fayette

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Even though schools around the country have closed, Central Methodist alumni Donn and Lynette Harrison haven’t been able to see their son, who is stuck at the University of Prince Edward Island.

Unable to visit their own child, the ’88 and ’89 graduates of CMU decided to put some care packages together for the students stuck in Fayette.

“I was talking with (CMU Alumni Association President) Laura Blair and she asked if my kid, who goes to school in Canada, was home,” Lynette said. 

“And I said, ‘no, he’s stuck up there. We don’t know when or if we’ll get to see him for a long time.’ And I asked how many were stuck here, and what we could do for them.”

Blair reached out through the Central Methodist Alumni Facebook group to give  CMU alumni a chance to contribute to the care packages or donate digitally to purchase gift cards from area restaurants and businesses.

The Harrisons left their home in Cameron on Thursday morning and made one stop to pick up more donations on the way to Fayette with the packages.

“We went to Kansas City and people came and donated stuff and we brought it all here,” Donn said.

The packages included snacks, playing cards, play-dough, and a hand-written note from a CMU alumnus to let the students know that someone was thinking about them.

Stranded students were also offered a free improv lesson from CMU alum and improv coach Bill Chott, who toured with Second City in the 1990s along with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch and others.

CMU has received over 2,000 dollars in donations as of Tuesday, April 28. 

“I couldn’t have imagined how generous and helping our alums have been through this,” said CMU Dean of Students Brad Dixon. “This was their initiation. We didn’t call, they just came and said hey, we want to do this for our students.”

About ten students and five hall directors are still on campus with around 40-50 more students living off campus in the Fayette area. Many of those students do not have jobs and some lost jobs on campus when classes were moved online.

“I’ve been accepting cash donations, gift cards to local businesses," Dixon said. "It’s just been amazing. These alums are just great, a great part of the CMU community. It’s great that the university is coming together like this in a time of need and our students greatly appreciate it.”



If you would like to help students with emergencies related to the pandemic, you can do so by making a gift to the Student Relief Fund here: www.GiveToCentral.org

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