October 23, 2001

Contact: Todd Cohen, University Relations, (785) 864-8858.

KU student from Hutchinson volunteers for relief effort

LAWRENCE -- Annie McKay knew as soon as she heard about the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., that she had to help.

"I'm trained to respond," McKay said. "I've done it before."

McKay, a Hutchinson junior in social welfare at the University of Kansas, spent two years as a volunteer for Americorps, a domestic Peace Corps. She trained primarily in disaster relief, working in the northeast and in Puerto Rico when Hurricane George hit.

During her second year in the program, she worked on the National Rapid Response Corps team at a Greenwich, Conn., Red Cross unit.

In August, she returned to Kansas to continue her education at KU. Only three weeks later she heard of the attacks.

Her former co-workers at the Greenwich office called her to ask if she could spare a couple of weeks to aid their effort.

"Greenwich is a bedroom community for the financial district," McKay said. "They saw quite a bit of loss."

McKay decided to go back to Connecticut to help the support effort, but first she had to clear it with her teachers.

"My first priority was my education," McKay said. "If any of my teachers didn't approve, I wouldn't have gone, but they were beyond agreeable and accommodating."

Alice Lieberman, associate professor of social welfare, said she was thrilled at Annie's decision to volunteer.

"She's been doing disaster work for a long time," Lieberman said. "There was no question they were going to need her again. She is unbelieveably well suited for this kind of work. She cares so much and has a passion for social justice."

Working through alternative deadlines and e-mails, McKay managed to keep up on her schoolwork.

"Some things you just can't get in a classroom," Lieberman said. "We want our students to take advantage of opportunities like this."

While in Greenwich, McKay's duties were in mass care, family services and communication. McKay also helped teach and train others who wished to become Red Cross volunteers.

"There were hordes of people who wanted to volunteer," McKay said. "I stayed many late nights training people."

McKay said the experience will stay with her for a long time and that she is glad she decided to help once more.