Exeter, NH (May 15, 2008)—To raise awareness and collect donations to aid the victims of the recent devastating China earthquake, Phillips Exeter Academy senior Manning Ding of Johnston, IA, and the Academy’s Exeter Social Service Organization (ESSO), will host a fundraiser this Friday, May 16, in the Agora of the Phelps Academy Center. The center is located on Tan Lane. The public is invited.

Student representatives from each dormitory will begin handing out red ribbons for students, faculty, staff and the general public to wear as a sign of solidarity for the more than 15,000 victims of the 7.9-magnitude quake. Donations of a $5 minimum will be accepted. All proceeds will be sent to the Red Cross Society of China before PEA’s 227th graduation exercises on Sunday, June 1.

According to Ding, this effort may go beyond Friday. “This is an emergency fundraiser that we pulled together rather quickly. Depending upon the response, we may continue to pass out ribbons into next week. We are hoping to have a really strong turnout for such a tragedy,” she says. 

The earthquake hit May 12, in the Sichuan province region of China. More than 26,000 people currently remain buried in collapsed buildings as relief operations spread into the region’s mountains. The quake caused landslides that now block roads to many of the hardest-hit areas.

More than 400 ribbons were prepared earlier this week by student volunteers from ESSO’s Big Sib, Little Sib and Chinese Student Organization clubs. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Ding at mding@exeter.edu, or PEA’s Community Service Coordinator Laurie Loosigian at lloosigian@exeter.edu or (603) 777-3584.

A complete list of upcoming events is available on the Phillips Exeter Academy public events line at (603) 777-4309 and on our website at http://www.exeter.edu/. To learn more about ESSO, call (603) 777-3584 or visit http://www.exeter.edu/student_life/85_527.aspx. For more information about upcoming exhibits, visit the PEA arts’ events page. For directions, call (603) 777-4330.

Phillips Exeter Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory school that was founded in 1781 and originated the system of instruction known as Harkness teaching in 1931. In the spirit of its charter to foster both goodness and knowledge, a Phillips Exeter Academy education will now be free to any admitted student whose family income is $75,000 or less. Committed to educational excellence, the school meets all demonstrated financial aid needs of its admitted students, making the Academy effectively “need blind.” The diverse student body comes from a wide variety of geographic, economic, racial and religious backgrounds approximately from 45 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and 23 foreign countries.