BY SELENA CLINE
SPECIAL TO THE HERALD COURIER
BRISTOL, Va. – “Water is plain to us. It’s silver and gold to them,” Hannah Moore said of the people she is trying to help in Haiti.
Hannah, 8, is a student at Stonewall Jackson Elementary, where she and her classmates just wrapped up a charity drive they called “Pennies for Haiti.”
The project grew out of their celebration of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.
“It [Pennies for Haiti] seemed like a wonderful way to tie in the ideas” that King professed and what he stood for, said Myrna Bush, the school’s assistant librarian and the mind behind the project.
“We talked about what he [King] stood for and cared about,” Bush said. “We encouraged the children and showed them how to be role models through caring.”
Students at the school, which has an enrollment of 296, were shown a map of Haiti’s location soon after the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated the country, killing an estimated 200,000 and leaving half a million of the island nation’s citizens homeless.
Principal Linda Brittle said “community outreach is an integral part of our [educational] program,” and the school regularly participates in service projects.
Among those projects is an organic gardening program, where students grow produce that will be given to a local food bank. The students also are raising money for the Ronald McDonald house, hosting a canned food drive, and participating in “100 Acts of Kindness,” where they will try to reach that goal by performing caring acts at school, at home and in the community.
“When the children were shown Haiti’s location on a map, it hit close to home,” Bush said. “They were enthusiastic about getting involved and helping. They took the ball and ran with it!”
That meant collecting every penny they could find.
“They searched everywhere for change,” Bush said, laughing.
Charley McKemy, 6, said she struggled at first with the task.
“I looked under the seats of my dad’s car,” Charley said. “I didn’t have any luck, but I tried.”
Eventually, however, Charley succeeded and offered her contribution to the effort.
Jacob Wright, 7, said he had an easier task, particularly after visiting his grandmother’s house.
“She gave me a plastic bag full of change,” Jacob said.
Tyler Venable, 9, collected coins and filled up half a jar before he felt like he had enough to bring to the school.
“I wanted to help Haiti. I saw pictures on the news and wanted to give them money for water and food,” Tyler said. “I wanted to help them so they could survive.”
Ryleigh Hagerman, 8, said she, “would have brought in my whole piggy bank if I knew that they would take quarters, too.”
Bush, who spent two hours cashing in the 140 pounds of change, said they did take, “quarters, nickels, dimes, and dollars, not just pennies.”
The school raised $576.64, and sent it to Haiti via the local chapter of the American Red Cross.
Librarian Jane Osborne said the Pennies for Haiti project was so successful, students are “still bringing in money.”
Smiling, she pointed to a jug of change in the library: It was already half-full.
Kids Making A Difference is a regular feature of the Bristol Herald Courier, highlighting the charitable and community service projects of area youth. To suggest a topic for this feature, contact Assistant City Editor Christine Uthoff at (276) 645-2546.
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