Students Pitch in to Help Tsunami Victims
The catastrophe in Asia brought out the best in people worldwide. Efforts on behalf of recovery and rebuilding have extended to K-12 schools, where kids are pitching in at the grassroots level with donations, ideas and good will.
What are students doing to help?
According to Weekly Reader:
In Scottsdale, Ariz., a private school allowed students to forego their uniforms. For a $5.00 donation, kids could wear their denims to school. Blue-jean fundraisers are always a fun way to raise money for worthy causes
In Paterson, N.J., high school students hosted a charity car wash — a great way to get the public involved in the school's benevolent efforts
In Stamford, Conn., every student in one elementary school donated $1.00 to the relief effort. Even a modest donation like this adds up quickly
What are some other ways kids can raise funds?
- A pizza party with a $5.00 or $10.00 admission cost
- Snow-shoveling or lawn-cutting service
- Babysitting or petsitting
- Bake sales
- Lemonade/hot chocolate stands
- Collection jars at local businesses
Who gets the money?
Many well-known organizations are promoting their tsunami relief efforts — but they don't all do an equal job of accounting for the donations that they receive.
According to Newsweek, the following groups "make the grade" in terms of providing direct aid and keeping overhead costs down:
- American Red Cross
- Lutheran World Relief
- Doctors Without Borders
- CARE
- Save the Children
Learn more online
These sites are designed to encourage students to do good works.
- http://www.quartersfromkids.org/
- http://www.dosomething.org/
Gale has joined with our parent company, The Thomson Corporation, in extending our hand to Asian relief. A corporate-wide double-matching donation program has prompted more than 3,500 donations to date from Thomson employees toward the relief effort. We offer our sympathies to the families of the tsunami victims.