Meet Clair, Clementine, Rachel, Shania, and Ciara, 5th graders at Jeffersontown Elementary School. Like many 5th graders, they love to sing, dance, and make art. They also participate in a more unique after-school activity: Organizing fundraisers for disaster relief.It has been more than four weeks since Hurricane Harvey caused extensive flooding and damage to parts of Texas and Louisiana. More than 1,500 people are still spending the night at Red Cross and partner shelters, with nearly 414,000 overnight stays to date.
The group of girls were inspired to help those affected by the hurricane when they heard stories of people in need in Texas on the news. When they also learned that several of their teachers had family and friends living in Texas, they were determined to find a way to give back.
“My dad might go to Texas to help,” said Shania, who told us her that her father was an engineer who travels as part of his work. “I wanted to be able to help too.”
One morning after Labor Day the group approached their assistant principal, Ms. Jessica, and told her that they wanted to do something to help the people affected by Hurricane Harvey. Ms. Jessica challenged them to come up with their own plan of action.
With the support of their parents and the help of the Jeffersontown Elementary faculty, the girls decided to have a schoolwide fundraiser by having a “dress down week”. Each day of the week had a theme, such as “Crazy Hat Day”, and Jeffersontown Elementary students could donate a dollar to the fundraiser to wear something based on that day’s theme.
The girls spread the word about the fundraiser by word of mouth, and by creating posters to advertise for the dress down days. Their parents went all out buying them supplies, and the group worked on the posters in the school cafeteria and during sleepovers.
By the end of the fundraiser, Clair, Clementine, Rachel, Shania, and Ciara raised over $1,600 to help the people recovering from Hurricane Harvey. They said that while students had only needed to donate a dollar during dress down days, many people chose to donate more.
We were pleased to visit Jeffersontown Elementary and meet with the group, where they presented us with their donation. When asked why they wanted to donate the money to the Red Cross, they said it was because they knew that the Red Cross helped people. The girls were especially excited to find out that their donation would help provide financial assistance to people in Texas, and enable them buy the things they need most.
As of September 27, the Red Cross has authorized more than $142 million in financial assistance to help more than 356,000 Texas households severely affected by Hurricane Harvey.
Clair, Clementine, Rachel, Shania, and Ciara: We thank you for your hard work, your big hearts, and your dedication to helping others!
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The American Red Cross continues to provide shelter, food, relief supplies and more to people affected by Hurricane Harvey, as well as those affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Red Cross response vehicles and volunteers are fanning out across neighborhoods to distribute nutritious meals and relief supplies such as diapers, bug spray, cleaning supplies, coolers, and comfort kits that contain deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste and other hygiene items. Red Cross disaster workers are also providing health services such as replacing lost medications and eyeglasses, emotional support and spiritual care to people affected by these storms.
Click here to learn more about our response, or find out how to volunteer or donate by visiting redcross.org.
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