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BonaResponds, a not-for-profit disaster-relief = group based at=20 St. Bonaventure University, has adopted a family that continues to = suffer=20 from Hurricane Katrina more than two years after the storm = devastated the=20 Gulf Coast.

The Whavers = family of=20 Pass Christian, Miss. =97 Jacqueline, a disabled 56-year-old, her = daughter=20 Ariana, 29, and Ariana=92s two children Ian, 8, and Ayden Dedeaux, = 2 =97 have=20 contacted BonaResponds, asking for help.

=93I just = can=92t seem to=20 get ahead,=94 Ariana said. =93I have tried everything I can think = of. Now I am=20 writing you to ask for help.=94 After losing two houses to = Hurricane=20 Katrina, the Whaverses continue to live in a Federal Emergency = Management=20 Agency (FEMA) trailer.

=93I could = never=20 imagine in my wildest dreams I would be homeless, clothesless and = jobless=20 all at the same time,=94 Ariana said. =93During all of this time, = my baby was=20 8 months old and learning to walk and talk in this little FEMA = trailer.=94=20

Before = Hurricane=20 Katrina, Ariana was paying the mortgage on her mother=92s house, = as well as=20 renting a house for her and her two sons.

After = Hurricane=20 Katrina, the family received $41,000 between Allstate Insurance = Company=20 and FEMA. Much of that money went to paying off the mortgage, as = well as=20 toward building one large house.

=93I took = the money and=20 decided to combine my household and my mother=92s household into = one,=94=20 Ariana said.

=93I felt = like I was=20 paying all the bills at two different addresses, so I should just = make it=20 one.=94

But because = of this,=20 many agencies refuse to help the Whaverses because their new house = is too=20 big. To make matters worse, they still owe $24,000 on the = mortgage.=20

The family = relies on=20 Ariana=92s paycheck as a casino security guard. Approximately half = of her=20 monthly pay goes toward paying off the cost of the mortgage. After = those=20 payments, the Whaverses are forced to live on $500 a month. =

=93I have = tried to get=20 help from church groups and other organizations, but everyone = keeps=20 telling me they have either run out of funds to help or they = question me=20 about why the house is bigger than the house pre-Katrina,=94 said = Ariana.=20

Dr. Jim = Mahar,=20 founder and leader of BonaResponds and assistant professor of = finance at=20 St. Bonaventure, estimates that the house will cost between = $20,000 and=20 $30,000 to finish.

=93We hope = to raise=20 $25,000. When people tell me it is a lot of money, I have to = correct=20 them,=94 said Mahar. =93It is a lot of money if we were asking = just one person=20 to pay it, but if we get many people, then it is really a very = little=20 amount of money. When we are in the field working, I often remind = the=20 volunteers that =91many hands make light work.=92 The same is true = with=20 respect to fundraising. We all can afford to donate a dollar or = two.=94=20

BonaResponds was=20 created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It has taken = approximately=20 500 volunteers to the Gulf Coast and led just as many volunteers = in=20 service projects throughout Western New York. BonaResponds aims to = be a=20 world-class organization whose mission is to help people in need, = as well=20 as to build better leaders and better communities. The group, made = up of=20 students, faculty, staff, alumni and local residents, is run = completely=20 through donations.

BonaResponds=20 completed its sixth local service day on Sept. 8, and will return = to the=20 Gulf Coast in January.

BonaResponds welcomes=20 new members, regardless of affiliation with St. Bonaventure. For = more=20 information about BonaResponds or helping the Whavers family, = visit=20 www.bonaresponds.org or contact BonaResponds at=20 bonaresponds@sbu.edu.

International = student=20 Augustine K. Lim will address her classmates as St. Bonaventure = University=20 recognizes graduate and undergraduate students during its December = Recognition Ceremony Saturday, Dec. 15.

The = ceremony begins=20 at 6 p.m. in the University Chapel, Doyle Hall.

University = president=20 Sr. Margaret Carney, O.S.F., S.T.D, will offer a welcome to = students and=20 their families.

Lim, a = native of=20 Jakarta, Indonesia, completed the requirements for a bachelor=92s = degree in=20 computer science and her MBA in three and a half years, instead of = the=20 traditional five at St. Bonaventure.

In her = address, Lim=20 plans to focus on how she ended up at St. Bonaventure and her = experiences=20 throughout college. Lim was an exchange student attending high = school in=20 Maine for one year before enrolling at St. Bonaventure. She came = to the=20 United States to learn more English and see life from a different = point of=20 view.

=93The = United States is=20 so open-minded. It just opened my eyes. Being here for one year in = Maine=20 made me think, =91This is nice. I have freedom of speech,=92=94 = Lim said.=20

She stepped = foot on=20 the campus for the first time during the fall 2004 Welcome Days, = just=20 prior to the first day of classes.

Lim travels = around=20 the United States during breaks from class, and travels home to = Indonesia=20 during the summer.

=93The = hardest part of=20 leaving my family was leaving my brothers,=94 Lim said of her two = younger=20 siblings. Sometimes I miss them, but I keep myself busy.=94 =

Active in = campus=20 organizations, Lim has served in leadership roles with the = International=20 Student Association, events coordinator of the Student Government=20 Association, volunteer with the Bona Buddies program, and a member = of=20 numerous committees, including the Diversity Action Committee, = Enrollment=20 Committee, Yearbook Committee, and the Fr. Joe Doino, O.F.M., = Awards=20 Committee. She is also an event volunteer of the SBU Annual = Programming=20 Contest and Young Women in Technology.

Lim has = also worked=20 as a graduate assistant in the Office of International Studies and = as an=20 administrative assistant for Event Management Services at St. = Bonaventure.=20 Her additional employment includes working with the campus ticket = office=20 and Dining Services.

Last May, = Lim earned=20 three credits in St. Bonaventure=92s international business = seminar in=20 China. She traveled to Shanghai, Xi=92an and Beijing to experience = international business firsthand.

=93I will = dearly miss=20 St. Bonaventure because it opened my eyes and my mind when = comparing the=20 differences of both cultures. I feel like I am part of the (SBU) = family=20 and I don=92t think I would have felt this way if I went somewhere = else,=94=20 Lim said.

She is = appreciative=20 to the campus community =97 and in particular Sr. Margaret, staff, = faculty=20 and students whom she has known since her freshman year =97 for = helping her=20 through her college years. Lim plans to get a job in the United = States and=20 hopes to someday become an American citizen.

Also during = Saturday=92s Recognition Ceremony, Dr. Joseph E. Zimmer, associate = professor=20 of reading education, director of the M.S.Ed Literacy Programs, = and=20 director of the St. Bonaventure Reading Center, will give the = faculty=20 address.

Dr. Michael = J.=20 Fischer, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, will = serve as=20 master of ceremonies.

Dr. Peggy = Y. Burke,=20 dean of the School of Education and dean of the School of Graduate = Studies, will present the graduate students. Dr. John G. Watson, = dean of=20 the School of Business, will present the undergraduate students.=20