Haiti's problem

On Jan. 12,2010 at noon in Haiti something happened to change the lives of over 200,000 people and putting out the flames of hope for many others.

Just out side of Por-au-prince the capital of Haiti over 200,000 people died when the 7.0 magntude earthquake hit. With Haiti biening one of the poorest places in the world.

Not many buildings were not able to with stand the earthquake the capital was the only building thought to stand if a natural disaster now is in ruins.

"i wanted to help, and i think it brought a lot of attention to Haiti that it needed." says Ella Kiwala

A fifth grader at CLC in Tallahassee F.L. Her friend Abby Stone says "it had not sunk in yet it was so'rta out in the air and i did not pay much attention to it."

Now Abby and Ella are working full force to help Haiti at CLC. In Haiti the money they made will help lots. It could save meny lives. "iam happy we raised $1,400 and I know it's going to Haiti so I feel even better." said Ella. "After all Haiti needs every last bit it can get! Please help Haiti now." added Paige Machie one other student at CLC. As i walk a way from CLC I am touched how a hand full of kids in there second to last year of elementary school to kids about to go into middle school and kids about to go to high school all working to gether to help Haiti.

help Haiti recover

Behind The Scenes Marketing "Scheme"

On Jan29th a Friday, the 4th,5th, and 8th graders of Cornerstone Learning Community put on a "Haitian Food For Haitian Lives" fundraiser, to help raise money for Haiti after the earthquake hit. Two of our teachers here at school have some relashion to the subject, Miss Small the 4th grade teacher is from Jamaica, and  Miss Janviar the social studies teacher she happens to be part Jamaican and Haitian now for the info.

I am writing on how they got they got the word out . Its the day before the event, children are scurrying around the room putting last min touches on there posters, now some quotes from the kids,5th grade student Jay,"Well, you know its for a good cause and well you know its a GREAT way to stay in shape and well you know its for a good cause. Other student Wilson Abshire, does concer.

For most children this was not a horrible experience.The poster making was fun as student Lilli Hanks said "It was fun running around the school hanging up posters and what not." Personally I thought getting the word out was easier than it would be, but it was still fun, with a total earning of $1200. With a total number of  75 students, in my perspective that's a lot of money. student Augie Soder quotes ,"It was hard but it was fun." That's how we, the 5th,4th and 8th grade ,GOT THE WORD OUT.

Behind the Scenes: Cooking for the Haitian Fundraiser

Local Private school leads Fundraiser to help-Haiti-heal!

Cornerstone Learning Community's 4th, 5th and 8th grade classes have performed a huge fundraiser on Friday, January 29th, to help-Haiti-heal!

The 4th grade (with the help of some parents and their teacher, Anmerie Small) lead a big canned food drive and cookedthe fried plantains right before the event took place. "Our aim was to make them taste just like the one's that get served at restaurants, and we did!" 4th grader Riley Bohnstengel stated. "I think that it was a great experience and now I know how to cook fried plantains!" Theo Scott said. "It was the taste of teamwork" Riley added. "first we got got whole, fresh plantains, then we stripped them and cut them in to bite sized pieces and then fried them. When that was finished, we got paper plates and squished them into a more "pancake" form, then some salt and they were off to the serving table!!!" 4th grader Thomas Einerson explained.

The 5th graders made the salad and made all the media to advertise for the event. "We made the salad using green beans, carrots, onions, parsley, pea's, corn and then the dressing (which we made too)" 5th grader Peter Sass said. "Well it's for a good cause and I feel like it's Haiti's gain, my gain because I enjoyed doing it and had fun, and I'm sure Haiti is going to like the $1,400 we raised for their recovery. So over all I think that it was fun, helpful, exiting, and it's a great way to stay in shape!" 5th grader Jay Fillmore added. The 8th grade made the vegetarian and non-vegetarian rice and beans as the main coarse the day before, just like the 5th graders.

The fundraiser took place on the hill at 12:00 pm on Friday, January 29th at Cornerstone Learning Community. All of the raised money raised went to Red Cross and Doctors without Boarders. "We all went home thinking about what a big difference we had made and about the lives we saved" Zachary Jackson said...

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.