Amber, Lili and Talia invited birthday guests to bring Haiti donations instead of presents. Nickki and Emily had saved $400 for a tropical vacation. They dumped every cent in the Haiti relief pot. Almost every student at Roberts Creek Elementary School dragged their coin collections to the gym last Sunday, Jan. 31, to support a student initiated Haiti relief benefit.
Donations came from far and wide. Langdale and Kinnikinnick elementary school students also jumped on board, raising more than $1,000 for the cause.
Chris Allen's students from the Endeavour (NDVR) Program at the Sunshine Coast Alternative School dug deep and jumped on board with a hard-earned $500 donation (see sidebar story), as did reps from the Spider Program who eagerly contributed $250. Former Calgary Flames star and generous Chatelech Secondary School teacher Dave Hindmarch set up the nets and doubled every loonie each shooter paid if they didn't score, adding $300 to the pot.
Grade 6/7 teachers Barry Krangle and Mike Metcalfe were about to initiate fundraising for a ski trip when the earthquake hit Haiti.
"The next day, the kids and teachers decided there were more important and immediate issues at hand," Krangle said. "The idea of a benefit topped the charts. Within a week the two classes had a line-up of parents and community members volunteering to host food booths, play music and donate arts, crafts and services for a silent auction," he said.
The benefit was a huge community success with a storm of enthusiastic Haiti empathizers pouring coins and bills in bins, garbage cans and buckets to the tune of $8,000.
Music from Knotty Dotters, Dez Sherwood & Christopher Norman, The Coast String Fiddlers, Jake Downie, Joe Stanton, Simon Paradis and Jerry Miller, The Divas, BOAB and former Creekers, The Wilderness Crew kept the gym hopping from 2 to 8 p.m. The Wilderness Crew members added another $250 to the pot by selling T-shirts and CDs.
All proceeds for the benefit will be donated to the Red Cross and matched by federal government funds. In the meantime, students will be extremely busy sorting and rolling thousands of Haiti-bound coins.
-Submitted
