Seventh-grader Kaitlyn Gilbert handed an envelope and two grocery bags to Monica Phillips, her Language Arts teacher at Sashabaw Middle School.
Enclosed were $80 and 15 health kits, all collected from her friends and family for the Health Kits for Haiti project Phillips led.
‘I’m just so impressed and thankful with how many people outside of our classroom have responded to our project,? said Phillips.
Following the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, many of Phillips? students talked about what happened in the country
‘By some students? reactions, it was apparent other students hadn’t heard about the tragedy,? she said.
She pulled a few short clips of different news reports to show the students and some information about what Haiti was like before the earthquake.
The clip opened with a 12-year-old Haitian boy being interviewed. He had broken his leg and his father died in the earthquake. As the clips continued the students heard mothers talk about their children and how they lacked basic supplies.
Phillips and her students decided to reach out. She searched online for an organization they could work with but it was her local church she saw information on health kits through United Methodist Committee on Relief.
Anyone could donate money, completed health kits or send donations to help create health kits. It was exactly what Phillips was looking for.
‘We know Haiti needs goods and medical supplies,? she explained. ‘We also realize as Haiti rebuilds they need the basics to help them stay healthy and something to call their own.?
Any students wanting to participate could help in different ways. They could make an entire kit themselves, donate items to help fill a kit, donate money, or spread the word to family and friends to see if they would like to donate.
‘I like this idea because the students were able to tangibly see what they were sending and imagine the direct impact of their generosity,? said Phillips.
The kits included a hand towel, a washcloth, a comb, a nail file or fingernail clippers, a bath-size bar of soap, a toothbrush, toothpaste and bandages. The only items the students didn’t need to get for the kits were toothpaste and bandages because they were already donated.
‘The kids really responded,? Phillips said and explained the students had 70 complete health kits and $150 to buy additional items on Monday after noon.
The last day of collecting the kits was Tuesday and by Wednesday they were ready to be sent to UMCOR.
‘The nice part is we only have to send them to Louisiana, not out of the country so we can save on shipping,? said Phillips.
The generosity continued on, Christie Nico, a paraprofessional working in Phillips classroom mentioned the project to a a friend who teaches cognitively impaired students at Waterford Post-High.
Her students run a snack shop and donated their weekly proceeds to Phillips? Health Kits for Haiti project.