Last week for Converge, Taylor Rosenow wrote an excellent and very interesting article regarding the issue of rising levels of apathy among students. However, a recent world event has shown that this apathy on students’ parts may be limited only to academics.
It is reasonable to assume that everybody across America, and even across the world, has heard of the massive earthquake that struck Haiti three weeks ago, tragically causing widespread destruction and loss of life. Since then, there has been a tremendous outpouring of aid from across the world.
The text message campaign by the American Red Cross, in which every text saying “Haiti” that is sent to the number 90999 equals a $10 donation to the Haiti Disaster Relief Fund, has received a lot of media attention. Through text messages alone, the Red Cross has gained approximately $3 million worth in donations.
The money raised by large organizations such as the Red Cross, Yele Haiti, and the Hope For Haiti telethon recently hosted by more than 50 well-known entertainment personalities has numbered in the tens of millions. But students in schools across America have also banded together on an incredible scale to help Haiti.
Students in the Springfield, Ill., school district have held more than 20 fundraisers spread out amongst their elementary through high schools to raise money and supplies for hygiene kits to send to Haiti. One middle school in California hosted a massive bake sale that raised more than $800. Students in the Sycamore district of Cincinnati held a two-week long relief drive, collecting water and cleaning products to send to Haiti. These remarkable displays have been echoed a thousand times over in schools across the country.
Here at Empire High School, our student council has organized the effort to raise money for Haiti, with all the money that we raised going to the United Nations Disaster Relief Fund. Students can donate at any time to members of student council, and many teachers have been involved in the effort as well.
One single class at Empire, which includes more than six periods’ worth of students, raised a little over $800. As a whole, the school has raised more than $1,000 and is still counting. Students have felt especially strongly about doing their part to help Haiti. I have seen entire class periods empty their pockets and remove all the cash in their wallets and put all of it toward the Haiti fund. One student even brought in a $100 bill, while another deposited a Ziploc bag containing $26 in change. No effort or donation is too little, and everything adds up.
This wholehearted desire to give back and help those in need is wonderful to see. The painful images of those suffering in Haiti tug at all of our heartstrings, and as students, many find it a much preferable opportunity to donate via their school rather than directly to larger organizations, as they may be unsure of how to do so.
The United States has approximately 53 million students from kindergarten through 12th grade. We are scattered across 50 states, and many of us come from diverse backgrounds and have different experiences.
It is undeniable that we are a very disparate group of people. The nationwide efforts by schools and students to give to Haiti, though, have proved that we all have something in common: our compassion and desire to help those who desperately need aid. When we students band together as a school and learning community in order to make a difference, we can accomplish so much.
About the author: Anushka Mohideen is a senior at Empire High School who enjoys playing the violin and learning how to cook in her free time.
