St. CLOUD - St. Cloud State University students are fundraising for victims of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal on Saturday.

The death toll from the earthquake has passed 4,000 people, an additional 7,180 people have been hurt. The toll is expected to rise as assessments are made in vulnerable mountain villages that have been inaccessible since the quake.

The group Helping Nepal International is asking for donations in the Atwood Memorial Center from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Rajat Shrestha is the public relations director with the group and says it's been a tough past few days for students from the county.

"We have something around 150 Nepali students at St. Cloud State and we're pretty tense about the whole thing."

St. Cloud State is offering affected students counseling services and other assistance. Shrestha says some students have found it difficult to keep in touch with their parents in the country.

"Like there was no electricity last night, so their phones are off so we were pretty tense about it."

Money raised will support the American Nepal Medical Foundation and the American Red Cross. Students are hosting a candle light vigil on Friday at 6:00 p.m. at the Atwood Mall.

Hope for Nepal will also host several other fundraising events this week. Students are depicting destroyed Nepalese temples in sculptures and other artwork, which will be sold on Wednesday. An open mic concert will be held on Thursday on the Atwood porch from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. For more on how to help, visit their Facebook page.

-This story was written with information from the Associated Press-

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