PEO gift benefits International Emergency Fund

Margaret Pierson (left), PEO chapter president, and Marilyn Rhea present Jeff
Foot, Northwest’s director of international affairs, with a check to support the
newly created International Emergency Fund.

Northwest’s Society of International Ambassadors started 2008 with a gift from the local Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO) chapter that will support a new initiative to benefit the University’s international students.

Chapter representatives Margaret Pierson, PEO president, and Marilyn Rhea recently presented a $330 check to Jeff Foot, Northwest’s director of international affairs. The money will help establish an International Emergency Fund, which will provide financial support for international students at Northwest who experience a significant change in financial status due to unforeseen circumstances while studying at the University.

“I firmly believe the collaboration and support of local organizations is crucial for international students’ success in Maryville,” Foot said. “I, on behalf of the Society of International Ambassadors, am deeply pleased by their initiative, thoughtfulness and support for the situations in which degree-seeking international students sometimes find themselves. Being far from home and in need of emergency financial support is mentally taxing, and an emergency fund will help students profoundly.”

The Society of International Ambassadors was launched in 2005 to assist international students through Northwest’s Intercultural and International Center. Financial support from SIA members has helped create a scholarship for international students who wish to continue their education at Northwest beyond their first year. In addition, gifts to the SIA help broaden the University’s Celebration of Culture Series.

To learn more about the Society of International Ambassadors or the new International Emergency Fund, call the Intercultural and International Center at 660.562.1498 or contact Polly Howard in the Office of University Advancement at 660.562.1248 or pollyh@nwmissouri.edu.

Founded in Iowa in 1869, PEO seeks to promote the advancement of educational opportunity, especially for women. It has a quarter of a million members in chapters across the United States and Canada.

For more information, please contact:

Mitzi Lutz
Advancement Communications Specialist
Office of University Advancement
Northwest Missouri State University
800 University Dr., Alumni House
Maryville, MO 64468

660.562.1248 (phone)
660.541.1401 (cell)
660.562.1990 (fax)

www.nwmissouri.edu/alumni

Return to Previous Page