Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Haitian Meal for Haitian Lives

Not long after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, students at Cornerstone Learning Community in Tallahassee, FL began brainstorming ways that they could be a part of the recovery process.

After deciding to raise money by preparing and serving a meal, three classes set out to pull it all together in just under two weeks. The 4th, 5th, and 8th grades (totally ~50 students) divided up tasks and dove in.

By the date of the event, January 29, the aptly titled fundraiser, "Haitian Food for Haitian Lives; Eat a meal, help them heal," had grown to become a celebration of Haitian culture with music, speakers, food and fun for all.

The 4th graders partnered with a food drive effort at FAMU and embarked on a campaign to fill a truck with items of necessity. Their successful efforts brought in food, water, and medical supplies. They also pulled off the daunting task of preparing hot plantains for the meal.

The 8th graders prepared a press release and prepared the main dish (traditional red beans and rice) for over 200 expected attendees.

The 5th graders took on the role of organizers, marketers, and event logisticians. They created materials to promote the event (including the below movie), constructed maps and graphs for attendees to learn about Haiti, and put together a bake sale to raise additional funds. They also prepared a Haitian salad to accompany the beans and rice.

The movie 5th graders put together to promote their event:

Haiti Earthquake Fundraiser Student Video from Jason Flom on Vimeo.

In the end, the students raised over $1,400 and gathered nearly half a ton of goods at their event. All proceeds were donated to Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. Tanya Roscorla of Converge Magazine, covered the students' efforts in this article.

Looking ahead, another group of students in the 6th and 7th grades are organizing a Dance Marathon at a local ice cream shop, Brusters, who has agreed to donate a portion of proceeds from that night to the students' fundraising efforts.

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