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| Appalachian heightens
support for Miller family with ‘Umpth’ |
Becky
DiVerniero
Features Beat |
Nathan Winkler | File Photo |
Over a year after
the tragedy of 9-11, the Appalachian community is still trying
to do what it can to help. One such ongoing effort has been the
contribution to the Miller family. Laurie Miller lost her husband
Douglas, a firefighter, in the 9-11 attacks. She and her three
daughters, Elizabeth, 7, Rachel, 6, and Katie, 4, have since been
“adopted” by Appalachian State University.
“After 9-11 last year, everybody was looking
for a way that they could help,” said Jenny Koehn, Appalachian
and the Community Together (ACT) community service coordinator.
“Barbara Daye, the dean of students at the time, had the
idea that if we could reach out as one collective Appalachian
family, if we could reach out to one family in New York, that
that would be a really positive way to sort of collect our resources
and energy and make a difference in one family’s life.”
Shortly before the attacks occurred, Time magazine
named Appalachian “College of the Year.” It was through
this contact that Daye was eventually referred to the Millers,
said Koehn. |
“We
weren’t quite sure how to begin, but we thought a letter
would be best, because a phone call out of the blue might seem
kind of strange, like ‘Who are you people,’ and ‘I’m
dealing with enough here,’” said Koehn. “So we
sent her a letter and it just said that as a university we want
to reach out to you.”
After Miller agreed, ACT sent a video about Appalachian to the
family, along with gifts from the bookstore, said Koehn.
“Since then it’s been all kinds of fun things,”
she said. “We had a brainstorming meeting last October and
came up with a huge list of ideas. There were representatives
from … 30 different offices and student clubs.
“And the nice thing is it really has been a whole university
thing. ACT has played sort of a coordinating role, but we are
by no means the sole contributors of this program.”
Campus Residence Student Association (CRSA) is one of the many
groups on campus that have contributed to the Miller project.
Through their “September to Remember” campaign, the
group brought in over $1,000, said Jessi H. Lindberg, vice president
of programs for CRSA.
“We raised a great deal of money for the Miller family, helped
unite the Appalachian Family around a common vision (humanity
and patriotism), and provided a variety of programs for Appalachian
students,” she said. “We raised almost $200 between
the Military Mail/Dollar Donation Campaign and the Silent Auction.
This is in addition to over $100 that we raised asking for donations
at the “Ghostbusters” movie at the beginning of the
year and the approximately $1,100 raised at Appalachian Idol.
We are also in the middle of a change drive going on in each of
the residence halls.”
The ladies’ auxiliary branch of the local Veterans of Foreign
Wars (VFW) has also pitched in. The group holds several country
breakfasts every year to raise money for various purposes, including
cancer research and project graduation, said Department of Psychology
administrative assistant Nadine J. White, who serves as the local
auxiliary’s secretary/treasurer.
The ladies’ auxiliary group held a breakfast in October of
last year for the purpose of raising money for the New York Fireman’s
Fund. A check for $1,000 was sent to the fund but was never cashed,
said White.
“After the check had not been cashed in 6 months time, we
voted in a meeting to find some way to get it to a family that
could use it,” she said.
“Larry Trivette, a retired Appalachian State employee and
veteran, and I had seen the information about the Millers on Appalachian’s
Web site and in newspaper articles.
He brought the idea before one of our meetings and we convinced
them that by giving to Laurie Miller and her daughters, we would
be accomplishing what we had intended.”
Various groups continue to send small gifts to the Millers, said
Koehn.
“We’ve sent birthday packages and different holiday
packages, ‘just because’ packages, flowers, all kinds
of things,” she said.
Last January, Miller mentioned a desire to visit the school and
“give everyone a big hug.”
Miller, along with her three girls and mother, made the trip this
past July. During their stay the group visited Tweetsie Railroad,
Grandfather Mountain, and took a river rafting trip sponsered
by Outdoor Programs, said Koehn.
Miller said she hopes to visit again soon, according to a letter
received by ACT.
“Thanks for caring for me and the girls. You’ve done
everything to the ‘umpth’ with class, reservation towards
our privacy, and great love … We will see you again soon,”
said Miller in the letter.
“What a risk you have to take to bring your girls and your
mom down to somewhere in North Carolina and spend a week with
people you’ve never met,” said Koehn. “That’s
pretty cool, and it worked out.”
Anyone interested in assisting the Millers can contact Jenny Koehn
at 262-2045. |
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