INDIANA UNIVERSITY PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS

COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING Administration Building, Suite 136 355 N. Lansing Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-2896 317-274-7711 Fax: 317-274-5457

TIPS WERE TOPS FOR IUPUI STUDENT WAITRESSES WHO DONATED THEIR EARNINGS TO DISASTER RELIEF FUND

INDIANAPOLIS - In the aftermath of the tragic events that took place on September 11, IUPUI students Erica Fekkes and Mary Albrecht wanted to help. The two friends, both graduates of Ben Davis High School's Class of 2000, are typical college students without a lot of extra cash to spare.

"The events really affected me," explained Fekkes, a sophomore at the IU School of Nursing at IUPUI. "I watched CNN for three days, just crying because it all seemed so surreal. It was incomprehensible to me to go to class and listen to a lecture while so many victims and rescue workers in New York were dying. So, I talked to Mary about ways we could try to help them." At first, the two considered organizing a water drive, but decided they might not be able to get the water transported to the rescue and recovery team in New York.

Fekkes and Albrecht, a sophomore at the IUPUI School of Education, are both waitresses at Gina's Coffee Bar, located in University Hospital on the IUPUI campus. "We decided that one way we could help would be to donate our tips," Fekkes reports. Last Friday, the enterprising pair put up a sign near the small coffee stand advertising that all their tips would be donated to the Emmis Relief Fund, administered by the Union Federal Bank in Indianapolis.

On a normal Friday, Fekkes and Albrecht might make $30 in tips during their 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift, which they split down the middle. "We have a lot of regular customers who work at the hospital and who know us," notes Fekkes. "The day we put up our sign, our regular customers really reached out to help us." As a result, they were thrilled with the $263 in donations that they received.

Fekkes is the daughter of David and Mary Allender of Speedway. Albrecht is the daughter of Paul and Marjorie Albrecht, also of Speedway.

Return to IUPUI Home