When UC Davis student Venita Katir decided to help the survivors of the 2004 Southeast Asia tsunami, she did not just write a check and move on — she started a student group to provide lasting support for those affected by natural disasters.

Katir, a senior human development major, is president of the UC Davis organization SHARE, or Students Helping in Aftermath Relief and Education. From 6 to 10 p.m. on May 18, the group is hosting the New Orleans Food and Wine Festival at the Veterans Memorial Center. All proceeds will benefit the Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology in New Orleans.

Katir and the other students seek to rekindle awareness and support for survivors of disasters after the national spotlight has faded. Katir, who will participate in Teach For America after graduation, believes in generating change through education.

"By targeting youth, we hope to make sustainable improvements that will affect generations," she said. "They need the tools, skills, and education to make a better and brighter future."

SHARE is partnering with the New Orleans affiliate of Communities in Schools, a nonprofit that identified the Martin Luther King Jr. school as highly deserving of assistance. A K-8 school for 600 students in New Orleans' lower-ninth ward, the facility was devastated by the floods of Hurricane Katrina.

Two years later, it is still operating at a temporary site. Sara Massey, director of the Communities in Schools New Orleans chapter, said funds are needed to completely restock the school.

"I think this is a fabulous example of the commitment of the young people of this country to follow a social conscience and help in periods of great need," she said of the UC Davis students' efforts. "We have 58 schools open and could use 57 more groups like this around the country."

Last year, the group organized a cultural dance show that raised over $10,000 in aid for tsunami-ravaged Sri Lanka. These funds helped build a technology-learning center in Northeast Sri Lanka that now instructs 30 orphans in computer skills necessary for jobs. This year, SHARE's core group of 10 students is working to raise $20,000, and collect school supplies to donate to the New Orleans school.

In celebration of New Orleans' rich cultural heritage, the evening will feature a Cajun-style dinner catered by Monticello Bistro, and live music performed by the UC Davis Jazz Band. The event will also include an auction, with items ranging from fine Mondavi wines and a time-share stay in Mexico, to Six Flags passes and young women's clothing. Guest speakers include Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef, Davis Mayor Sue Greenwald and Massey.

Group member Keisha Williams, a first year pharmacology and toxicology graduate student, said this cause is close to her heart — she graduated from a New Orleans university before moving to Davis.

"The conditions might look desperate sometimes, but we're all part of the same community. We're all Americans," she said.

For details, see www.shareucd.com. To donate or buy tickets, e-mail ShareTickets@gmail.com or call (530) 635-1383. Sponsors and donors include Mondavi Winery, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and the UC Davis Office of Campus and Community Relations.

Erin Loury is a News Service intern.