A club at Oakland University has partnered with over 20 other student organizations to run a fundraising campaign that will help local families who have been affected by the virus. 

That club is Mission: Kindness. Since it was founded in 2013, it has been involved in various forms of outreach and community support — such as donating blankets to children’s hospitals, donating sandwiches to homeless shelters and passing out hygiene kits to Pontiac’s homeless population.

According to the current president, Chieme Nwachukwu, the club’s primary mission is to spread joy and positivity on and off OU’s campus. Now, he said, the club seeks to continue this mission in the wake of a devastating pandemic.

“We wanted to still continue spreading positivity, especially in a time like this. We’re needed now more than ever,” Nwachukwu said.

In the past few weeks, a video promoting the fundraiser has circulated online. The video features representatives from many of the 20+ organizations who are involved in the fundraiser. According to Nwachukwu, the goal of this video is to do more than simply solicit donations. 

“We wanted to show how OU is unified, and how we’re coming together and supporting this cause,” Nwachukwu said.

Mission: Kindness plans to donate the money raised by the fundraiser to a local organization called United Way, which serves Southeast Michigan. According to Nwachukwu, the club considered many possible charities — including OU’s own COVID-19 Student Relief Fund — before going with United Way. 

“There’s something about their previous devotion and dedication to Michigan residents. We decided collectively that it was the one,” Nwachukwu said.

Mission: Kindness hopes to raise $5,000 for United Way. This money will be used to provide food, medical supplies, and shelter to local families who have been affected by COVID-19. 

 “We think that’s a small amount compared to the vast amount that needs to be raised,” Nwachukwu said. “But we think that — at least for our small Org with our small reach — we can at least do $5,000 and do our part in contributing to helping families in need.” 

Aside from the monetary goal, there are many other ways to help the fund. First and foremost, Nwachukwu encouraged students to take measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

“Definitely try to stay home, that’s an indirect support,” Nwachukwu said. “Try to minimize the spread, because if everybody stayed home we wouldn’t even be in the situation of needing to raise money for COVID-19.” 

Beyond this, students can help the fundraiser by sharing the link online.

“Share, share, share away,” Nwachukwu said. “We want this to reach as many people — the more shares we get, the more eyes we see on the video, the quicker we can reach our goal and hopefully exceed our goal.”

Whether you wish to support the fundraiser via a monetary donation or simply by sharing, you can search for “Mission: Kindness at Oakland University” on Facebook.