After successfully raising funds for the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster last year, the International Student Council has started fundraising for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

“This is the expression of solidarity with the community and with those who suffered from Hurricane Katrina,” said John Wong, adviser for the Association of Malaysian Students at Iowa State.

After the hurricane inflicted heavy casualties on Mississippi and Louisiana, Wong suggested fundraising at the International Student Council General Assembly meeting Sept. 9, sparking a discussion that eventually led to the current aid effort.

“I was always encouraging international students to participate in the community,” he said. “There are many opportunities for international students to commit themselves to be very active and supportive in the community.”

Wong, associate professor of marketing, said participating in fundraising efforts enables ISU international students to return the favor of what the ISU and Ames community did in assisting tsunami victims last winter.

Approximately 25 international students decided to start fundraising by selling pizza on campus Monday. A donation box is also available on Central Campus.

Olamide Shadiya, president of the council and senior in chemical engineering, said international students receive “so much support from the Ames community and ISU community, so it’s kind of like a payback.”

The members of the International Student Council expect to raise between $700 to $1,000, all to be donated to the Red Cross as early as this week.

Although Shadiya said the amount of donations seems small, she said the council is doing everything it can to help the victims of the hurricane.

“We can still do something; a little can do a lot,” Shadiya said. “We are encouraging other international student organizations to participate.”

She said there might be some other international organizations have individually donated to the Red Cross without filtering through the council.

Kaiser Kaiserani, vice president of the council and junior in accounting, said if another natural disaster causes severe damages, the council would think about further fundraising.

“We will help fundraise as much as we can – on campus, off campus,” he said.