Local schools collect money to aid Southeast Asia and eastern Africa recover from the Dec. 26 tsunami.
By: Scott Morgan
Great things come not only from the mouths of babes, but sometimes their pockets.
When local school administrators and officials came back from their winter holiday breaks last week, many of them found pockets open and quite deep. The idea? To help Southeast Asia and eastern Africa recover from the Dec. 26 tsunami.
With the death toll of that tsunami climbing ever higher the latest figures claim more than 175,000 dead in 11 countries students at several schools in northern Burlington County decided they wanted to help. Relief agencies worldwide have been inundated with monetary donations designated for the survivors of the post-Christmas disaster, but as the numbers climb, these same agencies, from the American Red Cross to Doctors Without Borders, have repeatedly asked for more to meet the growing need.
Moved by the spirit of helping, students at Northern Burlington County Regional High School approached Principal Eric Barnett, wondering what assistance they could lend, Mr. Barnett said.
"The students took the initiative," Mr. Barnett said Tuesday. "I knew they would."
As a result, he said, canisters placed around the school this week have collected over $1,500 that eventually will go to the Red Cross. Though he acknowledged that some of the money no doubt came from parents, Mr. Barnett said the appeal was initiated, orchestrated and contributed to by the students.
"That’s the nature of our kids," he said.
Throughout the Bordentown Regional School District, there is less a specific campaign than an all-around interest in donating to the tsunami cause, said Superintendent John Polomano. Mr. Polomano said school officials have checked out federally approved charities and launched several campaigns to raise money for them. Dressing casually on Fridays, for instance, now costs $5, which will be set aside for a specific tsunami-related relief effort, he said. Other contributions are coming from cafeteria collections, he said.
Mr. Polomano said the money raised so far has not been tallied and no specific recipient has yet been set, but said the money keeps on coming.
"This community’s always very generous," he said.
At the Columbia School in North Hanover, students buying cupcakes every Wednesday this month will be helping the tsunami relief. The sales, said fourth-grade teacher Jamie Drew, have so far collected more than "74 pounds in change, and a wealth of dollars and checks." So far, nothing has been totaled and a recipient has not been named. The drive, called "Coins for Kids," will continue throughout January, Ms. Drew said.
At Florence Township Middle School, an idea that started in an eighth-grade social studies class has yielded nearly $600 that eventually will go to the Red Cross. Glenda Autrey, a seventh-grade language arts teacher and Student Council advisor at FTMS, said the plan originally was to collect money last week only. But due to the kids’ eagerness to help, she said, the cafeteria collection campaign has been extended through this week.
Following the lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. being taught at the school this week, the kids have reached out to give "in the spirit of caring for your neighbor and caring for your fellow man, no matter where he lives," Ms. Autrey said.
So far, however, the most money raised for tsunami relief in the local schools comes from Chesterfield Elementary School. What started there as an idea by kindergarten student Flint Crawford Tuller to see what kids could do has led to a $2,700 haul and that was as of Tuesday.
Chief School Administrator Edward Gibson said the campaign, called "Pennies From Heaven," said his "small school with a big heart" has raised the money from parents’ donations and from kid who have sacrificed snack money and donated the allowances they earn from their parents.
Dr. Gibson said the campaign will continue until Jan. 28 and that the final tally will be announced at a school assembly on Jan. 31. From there, a check will be made out and delivered to UNICEF.
"We are extremely proud of our students and this community for the way in which they have responded and for their extreme generosity," Dr. Gibson said.

