In the wake of the May 12 earthquake that killed tens of thousands in China’s Sichuan province, members of the University of Florida’s Friendship Association of Chinese Students and Scholars are raising money to aid rebuilding efforts — and they’re hoping other Gators will chip in.

According to the American Red Cross, the 7.9 magnitude earthquake caused China’s worst natural disaster in 30 years, leaving more than 5 million people homeless and destroying 80 percent of buildings in several towns and villages. The money UF students and faculty are collecting will go toward rebuilding a school that was destroyed, said Guilian Xu, an assistant scientist in the College of Medicine department of neuroscience and the McKnight Brain Institute. Xu hails from the Sichuan province, and her parents still live there. Her family is safe, she says.

The group aims to collect $70,000, which they will donate in one check to the Red Cross Society for China. Those interested in donating to the relief effort can make a check out to”University of Florida Account 151,” and in the memo line write “China Relief Effort/FACSS.” Send the check to FACSS, P.O Box 118505, VISA- 300-38 JWRU, Gainesville, FL 32611-8505. The UF Student Affairs Web site contains additional information about fundraising efforts for the Chinese earthquake tragedy. Visit www.ufsa.ufl.edu/news/cheq for more details.

For additional information on this cause and how to support relief efforts for other recent disasters, namely the tropical cyclone that devastated Myanmar and the recent tornadoes that have ripped through the Midwest, please visit UF President Bernie Machen’s Web site.

For information on how to aid people affected by these and other disasters, visit the American Red Cross’s Web site at http://www.redcross.org or check out the international aid group Mercy Corps’ Web site at http://www.mercycorps.org/.