Public Service Center (PSC)

The final date for PSC collections for local aid organizations and the Red Cross is September 30. We will continue to accept donations to enable MIT students to work with remediation efforts in the Gulf area until January.

Checks can be made out to MIT, and donors who contribute more than $250 will receive an acknowledgement letter for tax purposes from the MIT Treasurer's Office. Donations can also be made online through the alumni association.

The PSC is interested in helping to plan and coordinate other efforts, so please let them know if you are planning an event. Contact Sally Susnowitz at susnowit@mit.edu or 617-258-7344.

Student groups

MIT students who wish to support student initiatives can volunteer for food drives, cash/TechCash collection, a fundraiser dinner on September 17 in La Sala, a benefit concert with Berklee College of Music, student service projects (in collaboration with the PSC), corporate solicitations, and more. Contact Aston Motes (aston at mit dot edu) or Louis Fouche (fouche07 at mit dot edu). See also student initiatives.

Personal Leave for Staff Volunteers

There has been an outpouring of ideas and offers from members of the MIT community to help with the hurricane relief efforts, both on campus and in the communities most affected.  MIT will grant leaves of absence to those members of the staff who wish to volunteer their time and skills to support the hurricane relief efforts of recognized organizations, depending on the needs of their office or work unit.   As with any time off, those wishing to take time away from MIT in order to help with relief efforts should submit such requests to their supervisors. People also may choose to use accrued vacation time to cover some or all of the time away.

The form for requesting personal leave can be found on the web at:  http://web.mit.edu/hr/fmla/forms/request.doc  (MS Word).   For further information on MIT's policy regarding unpaid leave, please see Section 4.16.1 of MIT's Personnel Policy Manual.