Hearts go out to Haiti - Drawing by Tevin Green [ArticleMedia] Friday, March 12, 2010 By Tyanna Hughes Advertising Haiti's current tragedy brought out sympathy in everyone, including staff and students at the school.    S.H.I.E.L.D. and the National Honors Society lead the fundraising efforts, but everyone chipped in, according to National Honors Society adviser, Mary Clair Austin.   "We fundraised for two weeks and collected almost $600," Austin said. The donations will go to Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian organization. "We thought it was a good choice because medical attention is an immediate need in Haiti," Austin said. S.H.I.E.L.D. adviser Angel Cora said that Austin suggested Doctors Without Borders. "I was told that the proceeds raised go directly to Haiti without going through admissions fees or anything that would prevent Haiti from getting the full effect of what is actually donated," he said. Simon Laplante, a junior, said that he has cousins in Haiti and in spite of the earthquake they are all right. "I have 12 aunts so I can't even count how many cousins I have [living in Haiti]. Some of my cousins got injured in the schools but they all survived," he said. History teacher Robert Donnelly offered to donate 10 cents for every dollar raised for Haiti. He said he believes charity is an important duty we all should exercise. "When we can, we need to take care of those close to us because it shows respect for those who have suffered a long time," he said. Laplante said that when he spoke to his cousins they said they thought they wouldn't get to see him, because the airports are down and the cost to go to Haiti is so high. "I have never been to Haiti, so when I saw the pictures [of Haiti's destruction], I thought I'd never be able to see my cousins in person. I thought I'd lost some of my family, and they'd died," he said Junior David Booker, who helped raise over $50 for Haiti, said that he thinks it looks good for our country to help Haiti and also it felt good to help everyone. "[While I was fundraising] I tried to encourage everyone because together we can make a difference," Booker said. Senior Christopher Baron, who has family in Haiti, said that he appreciates the school's fundraising efforts. "I think the fundraising the school is doing is a good thing especially because Haiti is one of the poorest countries and they need support in the hospitals," he said. Donnelly said he thinks our school has been very generous in doing the fundraising for Haiti and he's very proud of the students who participated. "We do have a lot of our own problems in this nation, but we don't have natural disasters that awful and terrible, [so] I hope things can turn around in Haiti," he said. According to junior Nyia Bragg, she wanted to give money in the fundraiser because the Haitian people are going through a hard time right now. "If it were me I would want them to help me out," she said. Laplante said that he felt good about what the school was doing with the fundraising for Haiti. "I wanted to help as well and I donated some money."

Total Record(s): 0